The HeavenPiercing Fox
by BahamutX978
Summary: Naruto recieves a memento left to him from his father, a small golden drill. With it, he will carve out a whole new path, and ask everyone who gets in his way just who the hell they think he is.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Gurren Lagann

Hello, and welcome to my newest story, or rather a preview of it. This is an idea want to work on eventually, but I have other stories I need to focus on. I just wanted to get this started and out there so I would stop thinking about it and focus on my others that are farther along.

Anyway, this story will start during part 1, shortly after Naruto and Jiraiya return to the village with Tsunade.

EDIT: Started working on the story for real after watching the secong Gurren Lagann movie. Decided to go back and redo this chapter a bit to correct a few spelling mistakes.

* * *

**Chapter 1  
Now go! Pierce through the heavens with your new drill!**

Naruto knocked on the door to the Hokage's office, wondering what the old lady wanted him for. It had only been a day since they got back to the village with her, and he didn't think she was gonna send him on mission at the moment.

"You can come in." she said on the other side of the door.

Naruto walked in and asked "So what did you want to see me about Grandma?"

Letting the comment slide, she put a small box on the desk. "This is yours. The Third left this for you in his will. It said it used to belong to your father, and that it was an old family heirloom."

"Really? Did it say anything about him?" Naruto asked, curious about anything related to who his family might have been.

"No, it just said he wanted to give you this when you got a little older. I just felt like giving it to you early."

The boy picked up the box on the desk, and opened it. Inside was a small golden drill connected to a chain like a necklace. When he picked it up, it seemed to glow in the center as he held it in his hands. "Wow..." he le out, almost mesmerized by it.

"Well, thats all. You can do what ever you like for now. I'll let you know if I have a mission for you." the new Hokage said, and the boy put his new possession around his neck with the other. '_It glowed just like it used to do for him._'

* * *

Naruto walked to the bridge where he would usually meet his team. Even when they didn't have any missions, they would usually meet up there. Sometimes they would train, other times get something to eat, and sometimes nothing at all. As he walked, he continued to stare at the drill.

At the bridge, Sasuke looked out over the water, while Sakura looked around for Naruto, and their perpetually late sensei. They hadn't been there long; both just arriving only a few minutes. On Sasuke's mind was the recent appearance of his brother, and his powerless-ness against him. '_I have to get stronger, and I have to-_'

"Sasuke, Naruto is here." Sakura informed him, and interrupting him from his thoughts. "Hey! Naruto!" she greeted him. As he got closer, she noticed something around his neck that he was looking at. "Whats that you've got there?" she inquired.

"Huh? This?" he asked as he held up the drill for her to see, and she nodded. "Grandma Tsunade gave this to me. She said the old man left it for me, and that it used to belong to my dad."

Before their conversation could continue, Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke. "Hey." he said.

The three members of team seven, Sasuke included, were shocked that their sensei was actually on time for once. "Kakashi-sensei? What are you doing here already?" Sakura asked.

"Well, I've been given a mission for me alone. I just wanted to let you all know before I left so that you aren't waiting here for me for a week." the jonin answered.

"Just you? But what about us?" Naruto asked.

"This one is a bit out of your league. But don't worry too much; you three will probably get a mission of your own soon. After the recent trouble, the village is in a tight spot, so all the ninja left are going to have to work twice as hard as before, and that includes you three." their sensei elaborated. "Anyway, I'll be back in about a week and a half, so we'll meet up here as usual then. See ya." and with that, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

With their sensei now gone, Sasuke immediately started to walk away. "Sasuke! Where are you going?" Sakura called out to him.

"I'm going to do some training." he answered back without stopping or turning around.

"Then is it okay if I come with you? I could help!"

"I don't care. Just don't get in my way." was his reply, still not stopping.

Sakura eagerly walked toward the boy, and Naruto could feel himself growing jealous of the attention Sasuke was receiving from their female teammate. "Hey wait!" he called out, but hesitated when he remembered the other day in the hospital. "What about me guys? Mind if I come too?" He liked Sakura, he really did, but something about seeing her and how relieved she was when Sasuke had recovered made him think that if Sakura would be happy with the jerk, despite how much he hated it, he would let it be. He would always like her and hope that she would return his feelings, but he wouldn't try to interfere with her pursuit of Sasuke.

Sakura got annoyed at this. She didn't really hate Naruto anymore like she once foolishly did, they were friends, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to be annoyed at him interrupting time she could be spending alone with Sasuke.

Sasuke however, thought back to the events he had witnessed when Oto and Suna attacked the village. He remembered Naruto's fight with Gaara, and the power he displayed then. "Yeah, you can come too if you want. In fact, I'd prefer it if you did."

Naruto was a bit caught off guard by his response, but otherwise followed behind the other two.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the depths of Oto, Orochimaru was screaming in pain. The wounds from his recent battle with his old mentor and the third Hokage oh Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi, still causing him great anguish. He and Kabuto had returned not long ago from their failed attempt to convince his old team mate Tsunade to heal his injuries.

"Its a shame that _they_ weren't ready by the time of our invasion of Konoha." Kabuto said as he entered the room with medication to ease his master's pain. "The attack would have gone much differently with those at our disposal. Those weapons are unlike any the ninja world has ever seen."

"At this point, its useless to talk about 'what ifs.' The fact of the matter is that the first one wasn't completed until after the invasion." Orochimaru stated. "Though I would like to know how our progress is going."

"We've already completed a few of the smaller ones, and the larger ones are nearing completion as well. Also, according to the information, the larger ones posses facilties to not only create the materials to repair the smaller ones, but to mass produce them as well."

Orochimaru grinned sinisterly at Kabuto's report of the status of the development of his newest weapon. "And our other research?"

"We've hit a bit of a snag there. We'll need your expertise once you're back to full health to get any further. Genetics isn't really my strong suit."

After he was finished, Kabuto made his way out of the room. Before he walked out of the door, Orochimaru asked one final question. "You did send one of the completed ones to Konoha as I asked, right?"

"Of course, Lord Orochimaru. It should arrive at the village soon." Kabuto responded. "They won't know what hit them after this little demonstration."

* * *

As Kakashi made his way through the forest on his mission, he heard something suspicios. He stopped to see if he could here anything else, and heard a loud noise. Deciding to take a look, he went in the direction of where it was coming from. When he found the source, he was shocked by what he found.

What appeared to be a giant face with arms and legs was making its way through the forest. It had horns coming out of the top of its head, and helf a gigantic club in its left hand.

'_What the hell is that thing!_' he thought, not wanting to speak and alert this thing of his presence. _'With the direction its going in, its obvious its heading for Konoha._' He then made a series of seals with his hands and thrust his hand down onto the tree branch he was on. There was a puff of smoke, and when it cleared there was a small dog there.

The dog instantly took notice of the giant face. "What the heck is that thing Kakashi?" Pakkun wispered to the one who summoned it.

"I don't know, but its on its way to the village." the masked jonin wispered back. "I'm on an important mission, and with the village's current situation, I can't afford to abandon it. Besides, you could get there faster without me. I want you to get to the village and warn them that this thing is coming." The dog nodded, and quickly took off back to the village.

* * *

Back at Konoha, Naruto was showing off his newest technique, the Rasengan, to his team mates. "And then I use my Kage Bunshin to control the spinning chakra!" He explained as he demonstrated it to them. "And here it is! The Rasengan, a jutsu invented by the Fourth Hokage, and it makes that Chidori of yours Sasuke look like basic ninjutsu!" he said as he held the sphere of chakra in front for Sasuke and Sakura to see.

"Tch, yeah right." Sasuke said. "You just told us it took the Fourth Hokage a few years to create, and you expect me to believe that you learned something stronger than Chidori in a little over a week?" Sasuke didn't care how strong Naruto had shown to be during his fight with Gaara, but there was no way he was telling the truth right now. He was positive that the blonde was just exagerating the strength of his new jutsu. At least, thats what Sasuke thought...

"Heh, then watch and be amazed Sasuke!" Naruto said as he looked over to the large boulder that nearby. "Go stand on the side of that boulder, and get ready to enjoy the show!" Sasuke and Sakura did as he said, and stood back a bit from the large rock. He ran towards it, and slammed the sphere of spinning chakra into it. Neither of the other members of Team 7 expected the display they of power that they were about to witness. As the jutsu made contact with the boulder, it dug into the stone and created a crater around the hole, then the sphere expanded on the inside and burst though the other side causing a large portion of the back side to explode. Unknown to all three, the drill around Naruto's neck glowed intensly during the whole thing. "Whoooaaa... That looked like it was even stronger than last time..." Naruto mused, as even he was amazed by his newest technique, since this was only the second time he had used it successfully.

The two witnesses were speechless after the display of power their blonde team mate had shown them.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the gates of the village, two chunin were on guard at the front. They were Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki. Izumo let out a yawn. It was a boring day, but with what the village had recently went through, the both of them hoped that it would last. It may be boring, but at least it was peaceful. Unfortunately, that would not last much longer.

From down the road, Kotetsu noticed something small approaching fast. "Hey Izumo, somethings coming. Be on your guard, just in case." He told the other guard.

As it got closer, they were able to make out what it was. "Hey, its just one of Kakashi's dogs, Pakkun." Izumo said, relaxing his guard.

"Yeah, but he looks awfully worried about something. I don't like where this is going." Kotetsu said. He then let out a sigh before saying "This definitely isn't the best of times Konoha has seen."

"We've got trouble!" Pakkun shouted to the two chunin guards as he got closer.

"Did something happen to Kakashi?" Izumo asked the dog as he stopped in front of the two to catch his breath.

"No, but something big is heading this way."

"Whats coming?" Kotetsu asked.

* * *

"A giant walking face?" Tsunade asked, repeating what had just been told to her.

"I know it sounds crazy; I might even think it was rediculous too if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. But Kakashi would never lie about something like this, especially not at a time like now." Pakkun explained.

"What should we do, Lady Hokage?" Kotetsu asked.

"What you told me may sound crazy, but I trust Kakashi." she said. "And at a time like this, we can't afford to take this lightly. Shizune, you go with these two and inform all the chunin and jonin still present and have them get ready to defend the village against this thing."

"Right!" the three said before leaving the office.

Tsunade sat back in her seat and sighed. '_What a way to begin my time as Hokage. I've only just started, and already the village is under attack._'

* * *

Meanwhile, at the training ground, Naruto and Sasuke were getting ready for a fight. After seeing the Rasengan's display of power, Sasuke had decided to challenge Naruto to a fight. Mostly to see just which of them was better, but to also to prove to himself that he was still stronger than the boy who had been dead last in their graduating class. "You're new jutsu may be good, but you're still no match for me."

"Ha. We'll just see about that." Naruto said as he got ready to preform his signature technique, the kage bunshin no jutsu. Just before he was about to preform the jutsu, the three felt the ground shake slightly, and heard a stomping noise. The two things started to grow, with the ground shaking more, and the noise growing louder. "What the heck is going on?"

"Something is coming..." Sakura said, starting to sound worried.

The group then gathered together, and started to tense up as they waited for whatever was coming towards them. The three of them were unprepared for what they were about to see. The trees that had concealed its approach from them were knocked down, and the giant face that Kakashi had discovered earlier was right in front of them.

"The hell is that thing!" Naruto yelled out upon seeing it.

"That thing is huge! What are we going to do!" Sakura shouted out as well.

Sasuke said nothing, but he was just as worried as the other two.

The giant face stopped walking as it saw the three standing in front of it. It looked them over, then started to laugh. "**HA HA HA HA! Looks like I've arrived at Konoha!**" it said. "**This time your pathetic village won't escape the wrath of the Hidden Sound Village! Today is when your village will be destoyed!**"

"That thing is with Oto? Then its one of that creep Orochimaru's lackeys." Naruto said. Sakura tensed up, then glanced over at Sasuke, her gaze moving to the Curse Seal on his neck.

The thing then picked up his club and said "**I won't let you three runts talk that way about Lord Orochimaru!**" It swung the club at the trio, who all jumped in different directions to avoid it.

Sasuke jumped to the side of it and was now standing on a tree branch. he ran through several hand seals as he preformed one of his signature jutsus. '_Katon, Goukakyuu no jutsu!_' he said in his head as he shot a fireball from his mouth at the face. It did little damage, and only served to cause the thing to laugh at his efforts.

"**HAHAHAHAHA! Did you really think that would work against me?**" it said as it swung its club at him again. Sasuke barely dodged the club as it struck where he had been just moments ago. He crashed into the ground, and Sakura rushed to his side.

"Hey you!" Naruto yelled, getting its attention. He bit down on his finger before running through a series of seals. "You may think you're big and tough right now, but lets see how you compare to Gamabunta! Kuchyose no Jutsu!" he said as he slammed his plam into the ground, and a cloud of smoke appeared. Unfortunately for the blonde, the result of his technique was much less than what he had desired. In place of the giant toad he had wanted, a toad that was smaller than even him was there. "Gamakichi! Why can't I ever get your dad when I want him!"

"Huh? Whats going on?" the toad asked as he looked around, noticing the giant face that had shown up. "WOAH! What the hell is that thing!"

The thing found "**HAHAHAHAHA! Thats your big trump card? Pathetic!**" it said before swinging its club at the boy and toad. The two dodged it, and it swung at them again. Though they avoided, they were knocked right over to where Sasuke and Sakura were. They were all knocked to the ground, and were unable to get up in time as the massive club was swung down on them. Just before it landed on them, the drill around Naruto's neck began to glow. After the club struck the ground, it lifted up, and the three genin and one toad were nowhere to be seen. "**That takes care of those brats. Now to get back to what I was doing.**" It said, assuming it had crushed them, and then continued back on its way to the village.

* * *

"...Naruto..."

'_Huh? Where am I?_' Naruto thought to himself.

"...Naruto..."

The last thing he remembered was the huge club about to crush him and his friends. '_Am I dead?_'

"Hey Naruto!"

"OW!" Naruto was awoken by something hitting his stomach. He sat up quickly, and saw Gamakichi fly off of him.

"Glad to see that woke you up." the toad said.

The blonde then took notice to his suroundings, and saw Sasuke and Sakura lying nearby. As he went to wake them up, he looked around and saw that they were in what looked to be a cave. He looked up and saw a hole in the roof of it.

"We fell in through there." Gamakichi said.

Shortly after, Sasuke and Sakura came to, and looked around. "Where are we?" Sakura asked.

"We fell into some underground cave or something." Naruto said.

"Its pretty dark..." she said, seeing that the only source of light was coming in through the hole in the ceiling.

Sasuke looked up at the hole they had fell through. "It looks like its too high up to get up to it." he said.

"Then we're stuck!" Sakura said. Sasuke stood in silence, not wanting to say they really might be trapped.

Naruto was about to freak out, when something caught his attention. "Hey, I think I heard something." Naruto said.

"What?" the other three present asked. Sure enough, they could hear something as well. "Sounds like... footsteps!" Sakura said, getting hopeful.

Then they saw a light that seemed to be getting closer. "Stay alert. Who ever this is, we don't know if they'll help us." Sasuke said, and the others nodded.

As the person drew near, they saw that it was a man with a torch. He clothes he wore were tattered and dirty, and they could tell that they were very old. He also had a cloak with a hood that concealed his face. When he stopped in front of them, they saw that his hands weren't normal, and had claws on the end of his fingers, almost like an animal. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" he asked them in a rough tone.

"Uh, I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto introduced himself, a bit intimidated by the man.

"Sa-Sakura Haruno."

"...Sasuke Uchiha."

"Gamakichi."

"Right. And how did you three end up here?" he asked again.

"We were fighting against a giant face, with horns and a club, and then the groubd collapsed under under us and we ended up here." Naruto explained

"What! You saw a Gunmen!" the man said, surprised by what he heard.

"Gun-what? You know what that thing is?"

"Yeah, I do. That thing was a Gunmen, basically a big robot that someone goes inside to pilot." the man explained.

"What? How do you know that?"

"A really long time ago, I used to pilot one myself."

"Really? Then do you have one we could use to beat the other one? Its gonna destroy our village if we don't stop it!" Naruto said, sounding hopeful for this man's help.

He shook his head, and said "Sorry, but I don't. I don't even know how this other one you saw is working. Most of the others were left broken, and in a state of disrepair."

"Damn." Naruto said as he looked down. Sakura looked a bit disappointed as well. Sasuke on the other hand, looked over at the man.

"Wait a minute." Sasuke said. "You said 'most' before, what do you mean by 'most were left broken."

The man looked over at the raven haired boy and said "A long time ago, something happened, and after that every Gumen was left too broken to work. All except one."

"Then is that the one thats up there?" Sakura asked.

"No, it couldn't be. That one I was talking about is down here."

"What? But you said that you didn't have another one down here!" Narutoa said, pointing an accusing finger at the man.

"No, I said that I didn't have one that you could use." the man said, sounding annoyed with Naruto. "The only working one down here is special; even though its still in working condition after all this time, it can't be piloted by just anyone, and it requires a special key, which I lost a very long time ago."

"Damn it!" Naruto said. "This is happening so soon after they attacked us before. And after all that trouble me and the old pervert went through to find grandma Tsunade. If only I could do something about it!"

As he went on that rant, something began to glow, and caught the man's eye. "Hey, whats that glowing?" he asked.

"Huh?" Naruto said as he pulled the drill that was around his neck up for all to see. "Oh, its just this. Its a memento from my dad. I just got it today."

As he finished saying that, the man was infront of him in an instant, and grabbed the drill, catching everyone off guard and they tensed up. He stared at the drill for a minute before dropping and walking off. "Hey, you three and the toad. Follow me."

"Huh?"

"I want to show you something. Now come on."

"Uh, right."

As they were walking, the man asked "Hey, blondie. What did you say your name was again?"

"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki." he replied.

"Right. I'll remember that. And you can call me Viral."

* * *

"This is it? This is the only one you have left?" Naruto said, clearly sounding unimpressed. The "Gunmen", as Viral called it, was much smaller than the one from earlier. It looked to be only a bit bigger than Naruto. It was mostly red, with a white face and dome on top of its head, and yellow eyes. "Isn't it a bit, you know... small?"

"Maybe. But at this point, if you were able to, would you use this, the only option left?" Viral said.

"Yeah. If I could use this, I would. If it means saving the village, I don't care how small this thing is."

"Then from now on, its yours."

"What?"

"Hold on, I thought you said you lost the key." Sakura said.

"You kids are in luck, because I just found it."

"Really? Where is it?" Naruto asked, sounding a bit eager.

"Right there." Viral said as he pointed to the drill around Naruto's neck. "That thing around you neck is called a Core Drill, ands its the key used to activate Lagann."

"'Lagann?'"

"Thats what this thing is called. And despite its small size, its one of the best Gunmen there ever was." Viral said. "You know what they say, 'Big things come in small packages.'"

Naruto looked at the machine, then he took the Core Drill off from around his neck and looked at it. It glowed a bit, and the eyes of Lagann glowed a bit in response, and the dome opened. "So you really think I can beat that other Gunmen with this thing?"

"Of course I do. Just who the hell do you think I am?" Viral said as he pulled down his hood, revealing his face. It looked more animal than human, with long hair. He was grinning, razor sharp teeth exposed for all to see. "So, do you think you're up for it?"

"Damn right I do! Just who the hell do you think _I_ am?" Naruto said.

Viral chuckled a bit at that. "I like you, kid. You remind me of some people I knew a long time ago."

Wasting no time after that, Naruto hopped into the open top of Lagann. "Alright then! Sasuke! Sakura! Get in you guys! We have a village to save!" he said to the other two. Doing as he said, the two jumped in as well, sitting just behind him on either side. Gamakichi also got in and sat atop Naruto's head. He then inserted to the Core Drill into a hole that seemed to be resonating with it. As soon as he turned it, the screen where he inserted it glowed to life, and a spiral pattern formed on it from the Core Drill. The machine glowed brightly with a green energy, and Lagann floated off of the ground and flew off towards the hole they had fell in through. As it flew, the group had to hold on tightly to keep from falling out.

"Now go! Pierce through the heavens with your new drill!" Viral yelled out as they flew by.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the village, the remaining ninja in the village did battle with the Gunmen. There wasn't many, other than Shizune, Kotetsu, and Izumo, their numbers consisted of Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuuhi, Anko Mitarashi, Genma Shiranui, and Ibiki Morino, as well as a few others.

"Damn, how the hell are we supposed to fight this thing! None of our attacks are having any effect, and we're finished if we take a hit from this thing!" Asuma said.

"Just hang in there! We'll just do what we can, and we'll come out on top!" Shizune said, trying to raise everyone's spirits.

"Thats easy for you to say, but what about actually making it happen?" Anko asked.

"What about the Hokage? Not that I'm doubting her, but why isn't she out here as well?" Genma said.

"**HAHAHA! Even if your pathetic Hokage came to help, it wouldn't mean a thing! No one can match up to me!**" it taunted them, as it swung it club at them.

They all managed to dodge, and threw weapons that did nothing against its armor. "Lady Tsunade still hasn't completely recovered her strength from her fight with Orochimaru the other day. She still needs some time before she has recovered it all." Shizune explained.

"Well that sure is unfortunate for us." Ibiki said. "We'll just have to handle this ourselves. The ninja of Konoha aren't so weak that they can't handle themselves without the Hokage."

"**We'll see about that!**" it said as it swung its club once again. They all dodged, scattering into different directions.

"Damn... I don't know how long we'll be able to keep up like this if we can't even scratch its armor." Kurenai said.

Asuma scowled. "We need something-" he started, but was cut off by a shouting voice that drew the attention of all who heard it.

"HEY! BASTARD WITH THE 'GUNMEN' OR WHATEVER THEY'RE CALLED!" Everyone, the Gunmen included, looked over in the direction. They could see a green light speeding in their direction.

"What now?" Kotetsu asked out loud.

As the light got closer, the could make out a big face, though much smaller than the one they were fighting, and it looked like something was on top of it. When it got even closer, they could just about make out what was on top of it. "Hey, is that...?" Izomu asked out loud.

"Yeah, I think it is..."

"LOOK OUT, KONOHA! NARUTO UZUMAKI IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY!"

"Naruto?" Shizune asked, wondering

"What is he doing here?" Kurenai asked. "I thought everyone else in the village had been moved to the shelters already."

"I think the more important question right now is 'what is that thing hes riding in?'" Anko said.

Naruto and his mini-Gunmen landed on top of a nearby building, and the others present could see that he was not alone, Sasuke and Sakura at his sides, with both looking a bit worn out from hanging on to Lagann as it moved at high speed. Gamakichi was also exhausted from hanging on to Naruto's head for dear life. "Na... Naruto? Can you not fly that fast again?" Sakura asked a bit wearily.

"Uh, sorry you guys." he responded. It had been easier for him since he had been mostly inside the machine, unlike the other two who had just sat on the back of it, and hadn't had to hold on to avoid falling off. "Alright you big-faced bastard! I think its time that you left! Or else!"

The Gunmen didn't "**HAHAHAHAHAHA! 'Or else' what? You think you can make me? In that little piece of crap? Don't make me laugh! I could crush you and you little toy in no time!**"

"We'll see about that! Don't underestimate me, or Lagann!" he said. Instinctively, he reached to where the Core Drill was inserted, and turned it again. The screen lit up as a green light filled out the spiral pattern on it. Right after that, the dome Lagann closed, cramming Sasuke and Sakura inside. On the outside, Lagann's hands transformed into drills, and a third drill protruded from its forehead. "Woah."

"**So what if you've got a few drills now? That still won't make a difference!**"

"**Like I said, we'll see about that!**" Naruto said from inside, and the mouth of Lagann mimicked. It then flew forward at the larger Gunmen, yelling out as he advanced.

As the mini-Gunmen got near, the larger one swung at it, knocking it into the ground. As it landed, it wasted no time instriking it a gain. "**HAHAHAHAHAHA! What did I tell you! You never stood a chance against me, kid! You shoould have... Huh?**" The gloating was stopped as he noticed a sound, followed by cracks forming at the tip of the club. The tip suddenly shattered as Lagann flew up from it, drilling urther into it, destroying it completely. The mini-Gunmen didn't stop its advance there, though, and continued on though the larger one's arm. As the appendage was destroyed, Lagann flew past it, and floated above the machine.

"**What was that about not standing a chance?**" Naruto asked. "**Now whose machine do you think is a piece of crap?**"

"**No way, thats impossible! Theres no way you should have been able to destroy my club!**" the larger one, his confidence disappearing.

"**Well impossible isn't a word thats ever been in my dictionary! If breaking that club was impossible, then I guess I just went beyond the impossible!**" Lagann then flew down at the other Gunmen, who held up his remaining hand to defend himself. Lagann drilled right through this limb as he had with the first, destroying it as well.

As the mini-Gunmen land on the ground, the larger one then turned around and ran in the opposite direction. Inside its cockpit, the Sound ninja that had been piloting it looked fearful. "How is this possible? How could that little thing have disabled my machine so easily?" he asked himself out loud, panic could be heard in his voice. "I've got to get away!"

Unfortunately for him however, Lagann suddenly flew down in fron of his path. "**Where do you think you're going? What happened to all that tough talk? I thought you were going to destroy the village?**" The Gunmen tried to run past it, but was unsuccessful as the mini-Gunmen flew right at it, and into it its mouth. The Gunmen stopped in its tracks, and the those present watched on, wondering what was going on inside. Then suddenly, the jaws of the Gunmen shattered as Lagann flew out, the Sound ninja held in one of its hands.

Lagann then flew over to the other ninjas of the village, and its dome opened up, andSakura and Gamakichi stumbled out. Sasuke was a bit more dignified about it, but was still in a hurry to get out. "Land! Sweet, solid land!" Gamakichi praised.

Naruto on the other hand, raised his hands to the sky, and pointed a single finger upwards. He didn't know why, but he just felt compelled to for some reason. "Who the hell do you think I am? My name is Naruto Uzumaki, this village's future Hokage, whose power is so great that it pierces the heavens themselves!" he declared to everyone. '_Don't know where that came from, but I am on a roll! _'_Who the hell do you think I am?', huh? I kinda like that._' he thought to himself, remembering what that Viral guy had said.

"Hate to interrupt your victory speech, kid, but I'll take that guy off you hands." Ibiki said as he apprached them, refering to the sound ninja.

"Yeah, sure." Naruto said as he released him from Lagann's hands.

"Thanks." He then tied him up, and handed him to another ninja with him as the two walked away. "By the way, you did good out ther kid."

Naruto grinned at the compliment. He thought the guy was a bit creepy after the chunin exams, but a compliment was a compliment. It always felt good when he was acknowledged by others. He was snapped out of his reverie, by someone else calling out to him.

"Hey! Naruto!"

He looked over to the source to see Shizune, Asuma, Kurenai, and a few of the others who had been fighting the Gunmen coming over to him. He grinned even wider as they got closer.

* * *

And theres the first chapter. What do you think? Also for those of you who may ask about pairings, don't bother because I haven't decided yet. But I guarantee it won't be SasuSaku. I despise that pairing. Anyway, please review with your thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Gurren Lagann

Thank you to all who reviewed. I was gonna wait a bit longer to work on this chapter, but then I saw the second Gurren Lagann movie. It was amazing. Afterwards, I had the urge to work on this and get the sory rolling. I've also gone back and fixed a few things from the last chapter.

To archsage328: Yes, Viral will continue to be a big part of this story. As for Gurren, of course it will appear, in this chapter no less. Can't make Gurren Lagann without it, afterall. As for its pilot, it will have many different ones, both Sasuke and Viral being some of them, but neither will be its permanent one.

To Kirino Tsuki: Naruto's parents remain the same. As Viral's lines imply, this story takes place a _very_ long time after Gurren Lagann. If you want, you can think of Naruto as their descendant.

To Zenosyke: There really aren't any Naruto character=Gurren Lagann character comparisons in this story other than Viral comparing Naruto to Simon and Kamina, and one other comparison much later in the story. However, both Tenten and Hinata will have pretty prominent roles in this story, so don't worry too much about them. Though Tenten might live up to Yoko's legacy just a bit. But don't expect too much from Hinata just yet.

To PEJP Bengtzone: Gurren will make its appearance this chapter, along with some other Team Dai-Gurren/Dai-Gurren Dan

And here is chapter two.

* * *

_This is the tale of a man who has yet to realize his destiny. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are young ninja of the village of Konoha, and one day they encounter a terrifying enemy sent by the leader of Oto, Orochmaru: A Gunmen. During a battle with the Gunmen, the three of them fall into an underground cavern, where they meet the mysterious Viral. After seeing the Core Drill around Naruto's neck, Viral gives the boy Lagann, a Gunmen of his very own. Using Lagann, Naruto easily defeats the Gunmen from Oto, and a new tale is born..._

**Chapter 2  
What Would You Say if You Could See Me Now, Lordgenome?**

"And here it is! The Gunmen that saved the day, the mighty Lagann!" Naruto declared as he presented his Gunmen to his friends. Teams 8 and 10, as well as Konohamaru, and his friends Moegi and Udon all looked on, each with different reactions. Shikamaru looked as if he couldn't care less, Kiba looked unimpressed, Hinata as nervous as she always was around him, Chouji continued eating, Ino looked a bit skeptical at his claims, and Konohamaru and his friends all looked on in awe. And he couldn't tell for Shino.

"Thats it?" Kiba asked, voicing his opinion of the mini-Gunmen. "Its a lot smaller than the one thats just standing in the middle of the village right now."

"Hey, don't let its size fool you! Lagann single-handedly defeated that big Gunmen all on its own!" Naruto stated.

"As hard to believe as it might sound, its all true." Sakura said. "Me and Sasuke were inside there too, though we didn't do much."

"Yeah, I know. Kurenai-sensei told us what happened." Kiba said. "It still sounds a bit hard to believe, though."

"So what is this 'Gunmen' thing anyway?" Ino asked.

"I don't really know." Naruto replied. "But that isn't important! What is important is that I'm gonna use Lagann here to fight anymore of those big Gunmen that might show up!"

"I see someone hasn't changed since the chunin exams." a voice said. They all turned around to the source to see Lee's team mates, Neji and Tenten. Shortly after, they were also joined by Lee as well, who was slowed down by the injuries he still possessed. "Still talkig as big as you did then." Neji said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tsunade, Shizune, Anko, Kotetsu, and Izumo arrived at the training ground where Naruto and the others said that cavern was. They saw the hole where the genin had said they fell through. "Alright, Shizune and Anko, come with me. Kotetsu and Izumo, you two stand guard up here."

"Right." the four said in unison. They placed three spikes into the ground, and tied ropes to them so that they would be able to get back up. Their reasons for investigating the caverns was two-fold. They wanted to check it for any more of those "Gunmen" things, and to meet with this "Viral" person Naruto and the others had mentioned, which was why Tsunade was leading this team personally.

As they got down there, the person in question was already waiting, sitting right near where they landed. "I thought someone would be coming. Took a bit longer than I expected, though"

"So you're Viral?" Tsunade asked.

"I am."

"My name Tsunade, the Hokage of Konoha."

"Don't know what a 'Hokage' is, but you're here to ask me about Gunmen, right?"

"Correct."

"Alright then." he said as he stood up. "I'll answer all your questions, but I've got a little request first."

"And that is?"

* * *

"So this is the thing that you used to beat that big thing in the middle of the village?" Tenten asked as she looked it over, quite interested in the thing.

"Uh-huh." Naruto replied. "And you can ask anyone who was there that it was a piece of cake. It didn't stand a chance against me and Lagann! What do you say to that, Mr 'I'm-a-genius-and-you're-not'?" he said as he looked over at Neji.

"I say that I'm not surprised. Good job." Neji replied.

"Yeah well-Wait, what?" the blonde said, surprised by the Hyuuga boy's response.

"I don't blame you for sounding skeptical. I was a bit arrogant when we fought."

"More than just 'a bit.' You were a real asshole!"

"Yes, I suppose I was." Neji said with brief chuckle. "And for that, I believe I owe you an apology. You were correct, and was not."

"Yeah, well what about Hinata? If he hadn't kicked your ass during that fight, I sure as hell would have for what you did to Hinata!" Kiba said, not accepting the older boy's appology after what he did to his teammate..

"Kiba is right, you definitely went way to far when you fought her during the exams! There was no need for you to almost kill her!" Sakura added.

"I agree, your actions then were uncalled for." Shino said. His tone quieter than the others, but carried the same amount of disaproval as his teammate.

"P-please everyone. T-theres really no need for you all to gang up on Neji. I'm sure hes sorry for everything back then." Hinata said. Her cousin had already appologized to her for what he had done to her and she had forgiven him

"Yes, I am aware that what I did to Hinata then was uncalled for, as well as how I treated you during our match, Naruto. As I said, I am truly sorry for the way I acted towards both of you."

Naruto glared at the Hyuuga boy for a bit, then turned around. "Well, as long as you really are sorry, then its all water under the bridge now." he said.

"Hey Naruto! Can you show us what this Gunmen can do?" Konohamaru asked hopefully.

"Of course I can! I wouldn't have brought you all here to show you I if I didn't plan on demonstrating!" Naruto said entusiatically as he hopped into Lagann and started it up.

* * *

The three women stared in utter disbelief at Viral. They didn't think it was possible for anyone to do what he was doing. Not even an Akimichi had ever eaten this much. He had been stuffing his face full of food nonstop for the past hour, even choking several times, and he was only now starting to show signs of slowing down. He had eaten countless amounts of food, mostly meat. After finally deciding he was content, Viral leaned back in his seat and rubbed his stomach, and let out a loud belch. "Lady, you have no idea just how hungry I was." he said.

"So you're finished?" Tsunade asked.

"For now."

"Alright then. We provided food for you like you wanted, now I'd like you to answer some questions I have like we agreed on."

"Go ahead." he said as he looked upward and used one of his claws to pick at his teeth. He then sat up straight and looked Tsunade in the eyes. "Sorry. Being alone for so long has dulled my manners."

Ignoring his bad manners, Tsunade asked her first question. "If you don't mind me asking, can you tell me what you are? I've never seen a creature like yourself before.

"I'm a Beastman."

"Beastman?" Shizune reapeated.

"Never heard of one of those." Anko commented.

"Can you elaborate a little further?" Tsunade requested.

"Beastmen are race of creatures who were created by combining the genes of humans and various animals. Our appearances can vary, with some having almost no resemblance to humans, while others like myself being more 'human-like' than others. But I don't think any of that really matters at this point; I'm most likely the only one left."

"How can you be certain?" Anko asked.

"Beastmen bodies are imperfect; their bodies deteriorate at an accelerated rate and their cell lines weaken overtime. On top of that, we can't reproduce, and multiply via cloning. So they've all probably died out by now, all except me."

"And why is that?" Shizune asked him.

"I'm a bit special compared to other beastmen." He took a knife that had been nearby, and stabbed it far into his hand, and the three ninja's recoiled a bit as they saw that. He then pulled out the knife and held up his hand to show the wound quickly seal itself up, then disappear. "My body was altered to be eternal. I can heal from any injury, I never age, and I will essentially live forever. So while the others died off a long time ago, I just continued to live."

"So then what were you doing down there in that cavern?" Tsunade asked him.

"I'd like to say 'I was down there guarding the secrets of that cave' or something cool like that, but the truth is that I just got stuck down there while I was checking up on Lagann one day."

"And how long have you been down there?" Tsunade asked.

"Hard to say. I just stopped keeping track after a few hundred years." he said, and the three just stared at him.

"'Few... hundred years?'" Shizune just repeated in disbelief.

"Yeah, but I know it was a lot longer than that. Why else did you think I was so hungry? I may be immortal, but I still get hungry. And I didn't get to eat often down there. I was fortunate that there was a spring down there, but water isn't very filling. I was lucky whenever some creature managed to tunnel down there."

The three females just stared at him, unable to comprehend what it must have been like. "Ah, don't look so gloomy." Viral told them. "Its all in the past now, and I'll never have to worry about anything like that again, anyway."

Seeing him just brush the situation off, Tsundae continued to question him. "What can you tell me about those things? Naruto says you called them 'Gunmen', but what exactly are they?"

"Like I told the kid, they're big robots that people can pilot. Not much else to them. Though most of them haven't worked for a very long time, longer than I've been stuck in that cave."

"Naruto and the others said you mentioned something happening a long time ago, but what?"

Viral then suddenly burst out laughing. "I was once told by the man who gave me my immortal body that I would live on as a storyteller. And here I am, doing just that! What would you say if you could see me now, Lordgenome?" His laughter died down, and he looked over to the other three. "Sorry about that. Ignore my reminiscing.

"Anyway, a long time ago this planet was vastly different. It was much more technologically advanced. There were giant buildings, vehicles that could fly through the sky, ships that could travel to other planets in the blink of an eye, and a bunch of other stuff." Viral explained.

The three women found his story so far more than a little unbelievable, but continued listening. "And what happened to this civilization?"

"Something called the Spiral Nemesis."

"'Spiral Nemesis?'"

"Its what hapens when the overuse of Spiral Power causes the number of galaxies to grow too large, and eventually collapse into themselves and create a supermasive black hole that would destroy the universe. We had been expecting that this could happen for a long time, and had always been preparing counter-measures to prevent it. Unfortunately, not everything went as planned, and although the Spiral Nemesis was prevented, a countless ammount of galaxies and planets were destroyed, and those that weren't were nearly destroyed themselves. This planet was hit pretty hard itself. Its surface became a barren wasteland, cities were destroyed, and many people lost their lives. Most of the population of this planet was lost. Over time, life on this planet began to get back on track again. People started to rebuild, and over time, the civilization of the past was forgotten."

"Thats quite a story Mr. Viral." Shizune said.

"No 'Mr', please. Just Viral is fine." he corrected her. "And yeah, it does sound pretty far fetched, but I assure you its the truth."

"Alright, I'll believe you for now. And what can you tell me about Gunmen?" Tsunade asked.

"They're pretty much what they look like; big robots. People go inside them, and pilot them."

"Excuse me Lady Tsunade, but I have something I need to tell you." someone said, and Ibiki entered the room. "I need to give you my report on the interogation."

"Go ahead, Ibiki."

"The prisoner capture earlier was obviously identified as a ninja from Otogakure. We weren't able to extract much information due to a curse seal that activated shortly after the interogation started, and killed him before he could give us too much information his boss didn't want us to know. However, we did learn that Orochimaru has more of those 'Gunmen' things than the one he sent earlier, and even a hidden factory used to build even more of them."

"What!" Shizune let out in shock.

"That bastard has even more of those machines!" Anko said.

"I was afraid that might be the case..." Tsunade said.

"Sounds like you guys have a real problem on your hands." Viral said, and everyone turned to look at him. "But I think I just might be able to help you all." he said with a grin.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Otogakure, Kabuto entered Orochimaru's room. "Excuse me, Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto said.

"What is it?" Orochimaru asked.

"I have some unexpected news; the Gunmen we sent to Konoha has ceased transmitting a single. It appears that it was defeated."

Orochimaru's expression contained signs of surprise, but no hints of worry. "This is unexpected. Perhaps I overestimated the power of a single unit."

"What should we do now?"

"Send someone to investigate and see if they can discover how they managed to defeat it. In the meantime, prepare several more to send out there once the scout returns."

"As you wish, Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto said before leaving to do as he was instructed.

* * *

"C'mon! Start!" Kiba shouted in frustration as he turned the Core Drill to activate Lagann, yet it stayed motionless. After a while, the others wanted to give using Lagann a try, yet it hadn't started for anyone except Naruto. Everyone, with the exception of Lee, Sakura, and Sasuke, had tried so far. Kiba hopped out of the mini-Gunmen and kicked the thing. "Stupid piece of crap!"

"Hey! Don't kick my Gunmen like that! You wouldn't like it if I just kicked that dog of yours!" Naruto yelled at the Inuzuka boy.

"Just try it!" Kiba responded, and Akamaru barked in agreement.

"You sure seem to be full of spirit, Naruto. Thats good; you'll need to be." someone said, and everyone turned to where it came from to see Viral. Some of them were a little surprised by his appearance.

"Viral? What are you doing here?" Naruto questioned him.

"I brought him up." Tsunade said, as she was followed by Shizune, Anko, Kotetsu, Izumo, Genma, Ibiki, and a few masked anbu. "We've got a problem; Orochimaru has more of those Gunmen things."

"Really? Well just leave it up to me and Lagann. We'll take care of any more that snake bastard sends at us." Naruto stated confidently.

"Unfortunately, I don't think your Lagann alone will be enough. Orochimaru has a factory to mass produce Gunmen. As strong as that little thing might be, I doubt it can handle an entire army on its own."

"What! An entire army!" Sakura exclaimed. She remembered the one from earlier. She shuddered at the thought of a hundred or possibly even more attacking Konoha at once.

"Don't worry, I know a way that should be able to even the odds. We're just gonna need your Lagann's help to do it, though." Viral said.

"What do you need me to do?" Naruto asked, determination in his voice.

"First of all, you'll need to bring Lagann back to the cave you found me in." Viral said as he started walking in its direction. He then stopped and turned around, and looked over Naruto's friends. "Actually, the rest of you should come too. We're gonna need some help down there, and every hand counts."

* * *

One by one, mostly everyone except Lee climbed down into the hole, with Naruto floating down in Lagann with Sakura, Hinata, Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon all hitching a ride with him. As they got down there, they lit up some torches, and Lagann activated some lights in its eyes. They looked around, seeing that the cavern was quite large, and they were surprised that something like this was so close to their village. Viral looked around, then pointed in a direction. "Its this way." he said as he started walking in said direction, and everyone else following him.

"So what exactly is down here that can help us?" Sakura inquired.

"This place used to be a museum a long time ago." Viral explained as they reached a smaller tunnel.

"A museum? What the hell could we find in a museum that could help us fight these Gunmen things?" Kiba asked.

"You'll see. This place was called 'The Team Dai-Gurren Memorial Museum.'"

"What does its name have to do with anything?" Sasuke asked.

"Team Dai-Gurren was the name of a group led by a man named Simon. Everyone in that group was a great hero, and this museum was built to honor them."

"That still does tell us what could be down here we could use to help us. If its just a bunch of statues and pictures, I doubt thats going to stop any Gunmen." Kiba commented.

As they reached the end of the hallway, they came to another large open area. They then saw several large Gunmen, 11 in total, all around the area. "Most of these here are fully functional replicas of the Gunmen that Team Dai-Gurren used long ago, with a few of them being the genuine articles. They're a bit broken down for now, but we should be able to restore them."

"Woooah, cool." Konohamaru said in awe as he and his two friends stood in front of the nearest one. It was red in color, and what those present found surprising was that it looked like it had sunglasses on it.

"That one there is Gurren. Its a very important one. Its Lagann's partner." Viral explained. He then walked up to a another one, which was mostly white, and held some sort of bladed weapon in its hand. "This one here is Enkidu. It was mine for a while."

Most of those present all looked around at the Gunmen in amazement. Before today, they had never seen nor imagined anything like them before.

Tsunade was not as impressed though. "While these things should prove useful, I don't think 11 alone, plus Lagann, will be able to fight off an entire army." she said, and everyone else silently agreed as their amazement passed and they realized she was right.

"Don't worry too much. These ones are pretty damn powerful. But this isn't the only reason we're down here." Viral said. He then pointed over to further into the cavern, past the Gunmen. "What we really came down here for is over there."

"You mean theres more?" Kotetsu asked out loud as he and Izumo walked in the direction he pointed in. "So we'll have our ow-WOAH!" he exclaimed as he nearly fell into a dark abyss. Izumo and him had come to ledge, and he had almost walkec straight off of it, but luckily Izumo had grabbed him.

"We're gonna need some power on in here first... Now where was that generator...?" Viral said to himself.

"W-what does it look like? I could use my Byakugan to find it." Hinata asked.

"Byagu-wha?" Viral asked cluelessly. "Ah, nevermind. Its a big metal box pretty much. I think it was near one of the Gunmen." Viral explained to her. She did as she said, and looked aound and found it behind a larger golden Gunmen. "Thanks kid. Now all we need to do is find a way to power the thing up. Any of you know a way we can run some electricty through it to give it a quick charge?"

"Leave that to me." Sasuke said as he headed over to where Hinata had said it was. When he got there, he saw that there was an opening in the front. "Perfect." he did a few hand seals, and his hand was suddenly surround with electricty and a loud chirping sound could be heard by all. "Chidori!" he said as he stuck his hand into the machine randomly, not really knowing what he was doing, and grabbed some of the wires. He got lucky as it started up, and one by one the lights started to turn on.

"Thats the Team Dai-Gurren way, alright." Viral commented, though no one else understood what he meant.

As all the lights came on, the ninja of Konoha were greeted with an amazing sight. While the Gunmen they had already been showed were impressive, what they saw now far suprassed them.

"WOAH!" was all Kiba could say.

"No way!" Sakura said.

"HOLY SHIT!" Anko let out.

"AWESOME!" Konohamaru shouted out.

Everyone else was speechless. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Dai-Gurren." Viral said. What they now saw was a massive Gunmen, far larger than the others they had seen. The other Gunmen weren't even bigger than its feet. "This here was Team Dai-Gurren's base of operations for a time. Its a fortress, with heavy firepower, and facilities that you can use."

"This is amazing." Shizune said.

"It will take some time, but we should be able to restore it." Viral said. "First things first, we should start stripping the Gunmen back on the surface for spare parts. It'll save time if we have ones that are already in working condition."

"Right." Tsunade agreed. "Ibiki, Genma, you two start leading a team in dismantling that thing."

"Right." They said, and they left with the unknown anbu.

"Next, we should start assembling people to begin the restoration of Dai-Gurren and the other Gunmen." Viral went on.

"Kotetsu and Izumo, you two start gathering everyone this village can spare to aid in the restoration. Get anyone who is willing to help." Tsunade said

"Yes ma'am." they said before they left as well.

"And everyone except Naruto, start gathering up any spare parts you can find throughout this cave. I'll look over anything you find to see if we can use it." Viral aid, then walked over to Naruto and Lagann, and hopped onto the back. "Alright then kid, fly down to Dai-Gurren. We're gonna take a look at the control room."

"I'll come with you two." Tsunade said, hopping in as well. "Shizune, you and Anko will take care of gathering up anything in this cave that looks like we can use it with the rest of these kids."

And with that, the three of them flew down towards the gigantic Gunmen. As they landed in the control room, Viral started to examine the consoles. "So what are we doing here anyway?" Naruto asked.

"I came to get the data on the Gunmen to help repair them." Viral explained. As he looked over each console, he sighed. "Damn, none are starting up. Guess this thing doesn't have any power left."

"So then are we screwed?" Naruto asked, sounding a bit worried.

"Not quite, kid. This is the reason we needed your Lagann." Viral looked around, then pointed to a central area of the control room. "Embed Lagann's drill there."

"What! Why?" Naruto asked, clearly confused by the beastman's request.

"Just do what he says, Naruto." Tsunade ordered.

"Alright. Just don't blame me if this breaks this thing." Naruto mumbled. He walked Lagann to where he had be instructed. He then had the mini-Gunmen float up a bit, then its arms and legs retracted into its body, and a large drill came out of th bottom, and embedded itself as he had been told. After a few secoonds, Laganns eyes glowed brightly, and all of the consoles came to life, as well as all the lights inside the giant gunmen.

"There we go." Viral commented as he sat down at a console. "I basically had you channel Lagann's energy into Dai-Gurren." he elaborated as he typed his commands into it. "Never really was a computer expert, but even I can get the blueprints we'll need to repair Dai-Gurren and the other Gunmen off of this thing."

* * *

It was the next day, and a large amount of people had amassed in the cavern. Tsunade stood on an elavated surface as she began ordering everyone, with Viral standing at her side. "Alright everyone. Most of you are going to focus your efforts on working on Dai-Gurren, but we can't limit ourselves on only it. Incase more Gunmen from the sound village attack, we're going to need some of our own to aid us in defending our home." she stated.

Viral then took over for her. "We'll start repair on some of the Gunmen, among them should be Gurren and Enkidu." He then pulled out several rolls of paper. "These here are the blueprints for the all the Gunmen. They should be simple enough for even all of you who have never sen Gunmen before to read, but if anyone has any questions, just ask me."

"Viral will be leading the repairs on Dai-Gurren, while Shizune will head up the team repairing the other Gunmen. Make sure all of you do your own fair share of work! We need all of your efforts together to make sure we finish this!"

Near the back, Naruto and his friends stood around Lagann. They weren't obligated to help like the adults, but still came down here to help in any ways they could.

"Man, it would be awesome to pilot one of those big ones." Kiba said as he looked over the Gunmen. "Bet it wouldn't be a piece of crap like Naruto's midget one."

Kiba's comment was met with Naruto punching him in the back of his head. "Say that again, I dare you!" he said.

"You heard me the first time!" Kiba said. The two fell into fighting stances, preparing to fight the other.

"Kock it off you two!" Sakura said, punching them both simultaneously. "Stop acting like a bunch of idiots. We're not down here so the two of you could get into a fight."

"Excuse me, Naruto?" Shizune asked as she walked over to them.

"Yeah Shizune?" he replied, turning his attention to her.

"Could you give us a hand? There are several large parts that need to be transported onto Dai-Gurren, and your Lagann would really speed things up since its much stronger than anyone else here, except maybe lady Tsunade."

"Sure, no problem." he said as he leaped into Lagann and started it up. He then had it walk over to where the parts were.

"Excuse me, Miss Shizune, but is there anything we can do to help?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, please. Theres a lot of work to be done on the smaller Gunmen. I may have been put in charge of the repairs on them, but thats only because I'm lady Tsunade's assistant. I don't know anything more about these things than you all do, so any help at all is greatly apreciated."

* * *

On the outskirts of the village, the Sound ninja scout stood as he looked around at the damage that the Gunmen they had sent yesterday had caused. There were several destroyed buildings, and its footprints could be seen. Then after taking care to make sure he was not seen, he headed into the village itself. It didn't take long to find the Gunmen standing further in.

'_Whats going on here, I wonder?_' he thought to himself. The arms looked to have been destroyed, and there was some damage to its teeth in the front, but what he found most interesting is that it looked like people had begun to take it apart. He couldn't help but wonder what this vilage was up to.

"Hey, Uzumaki! Hurry up" he heard someone call out.

The scout quickly conealed himself, and made sure he wouldn't be seen. He then observed several ninja of the village walked past him, each carrying as much parts as they could, and they were followed by Naruto in Lagann dragging a large cart that contained the remains of the larger Gunmen's arms. "I'm coming, I'm coming! Geez, have a little patience will you?" Naruto called back to them.

As soon as they were gone, he got out from his hiding place. '_So they have their own Gunmen now, too? Its small, but if it managed to beat the one we sent, then we can't underestimate them._' he thought to himself. He then quickly hurried off, intent on reporting what he had dicovered to Orochimaru.

* * *

In the Dai-Gurren's engine room, Viral, Tsunade and many others carried out the repairs. "So how long do you think repairs will take?" Tsunade asked Viral.

"Hard to say. I'm no mechanical expert, so it won't be a fast as if we had someone like Leeron or Leite." Viral replied.

"Who?"

"Old friends. They were Team Dai-Gurren's mechanic's, and the best at what they did. Anyway, we'll need to restore power to this thing before we do most of the major repairs."

"Why is that?"

"With power restored, we'll be able to use the bridge without having to use Lagann as a power source. On the bridge is a variety of systems, most notably the radar. We'll be able to use it to detect any Gunmen that this Orochmaru guy you told me about sends to attack this village before they get here."

"I see."

"Hey Viral, can we get some help over here?" Izumo called out to him.

"Be right there." Viral replied as he headed over to help them.

* * *

The next day, at the sound village, Kabuto listened to what the scout had seen. "So they have one too?" he asked.

"Yes. As I said, its much smaller than the one we sent, but if it managed to defeat the one you sent the other day, than it would be unwise to underestimate them."

"You're right. Head down into the compound and inform them to prepare several Gunmen to send to Konoha. If one isn't enough, then we'll just have to send a few extra."

"Aren't you giving them a bit too much credit?" a voice asked, and a boy with gray hair walked into the room. His most noticeable feature was what appeared to be a second head coming out of his back.

"Now, now, Sakon. He has a point. If they have one Gunmen, its quite possible they could have more." Kabuto said.

"Then perhaps I should go? I would love to be able to use one of these Gunmen things in actual combat." Sakon replied.

"I appreciate your entusiasm, but that won't be neccesary."

"And why is that, might I ask?"

"We already have very special ones being made for you and the rest of the Sound 4." Kabuto says as he walks over to a computer that they had installed in the room. On the screen, four large Gunmen were shown being worked upon. He then pressed another key and the camera focused on one in particular. It was large and more humanoid, and possessed a head on its shoulders in contrast to most other Gunmen. It was white and green, and possessed a pair of wings on its back. It also appeared to possess two faces, one on its chest like most other Gunmen, and one on its head. It also possessed two spheres in place of its feet. "This one will be yours. The data says its called 'Shuzack.'"

Sakon could only grin visciously at the sight of his future Gunmen. "I can't wait to use it." he said with anticipation.

Then suddenly, a loud scream of pain could be heard throughout the compound. "I see... Lord Orochimaru doesn't have much time left with that body... I'll have to begin preparations to find a suitable new host."

* * *

It was a few days later, and things were going smoothly for those in Konoha. Despite a few problems at first, they were quickly adapting and learning how to do things properly. While power hadn't been restored yet, it was very close to being . Repairs was also going smoothly on the smaller Gunmen, and a few were almost done. The many workers were heading into cave for another day of work.

"Man, I can't wait until we're done with this stuff. I'm getting kinda sick of coming down into this cave everyday." Kotetsu said.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Izumo said.

"Don't get so lazy you guys." Genma said as he walked alongside the two chunin. "We need to complete things as soon as possible. We don't know when we'll be under attack by Oto again."

"Besides, its only been four days." Anko said.

"Lady Tsunade! I have urgent news!" someone yelled as he pushed past people as he ran down the tunnel.

"What is it?" the Hokage asked.

"Gunmen have been sight en route to Konoha!"

"What!" she responded, and people murmured.

"And thats not all; theres more than one this time! A total of four! of them"

There was a panic among the people in the tunnels. They hadn't been able to defeat a single one without Lagann, and many doubted that it could handle these odds. "Hey! Don't start doubting me until I've tried!" Naruto yelled out.

"Hes right." Tsunade said to everyone in the tunnel. "And we've got more people than last time, so we're not finished yet."

One by one, most of the ninja cleared out and headed up to the surface, leaving only the non-ninjas and the younger one like Naruto's friends. Not long after that, Viral came walking down the tunnel from the opposite end of the tunnel. He looked around, and asked them were everyone else was.

"We're under attack. More Gunmen are coming." Sakura said.

"They said there are 4 of them this time." Ino said.

"Naruto and everyone else went up to go fight them off." Kiba said.

"Damn. They might not stand a chance on there own... Alright everyone! Hurry up!" Viral said as he started to walk quickly down the tunnel. "We're almost done with a few of the Gunmen! If we hury, we should be able to even out the odds!" As he said that, everyone nodded and followed after him.

* * *

Meanwhile, back on the surface, many of Konoha ninja had concealed themselves in the forest as they awaited the arrival of the Gunmen. As they heard the loud stomping that signalled their aproach, they observed their enemies.

The first Gunmen looked rather plain. It was almost all green, and its body was round, and its face almost resembled a skull. The seconnd Gunmen was also green, and its body was more rectangular, with two triangular points on its top. The third was was another green one, closely resembling a frog. The 4th one however, was red and orange, and its face resemble the Gurren they had seen in the cavern, though it lacked the sunglasses and its arms and legs were much different and thinner. It also carried a pair of swords on its back.

As the Gunmen continued their march to Konoha, one of them stepped on a a wired that triggered a great amount of exploding tags. Unfortunately, they did little to harm the Gunmen. Disappointed, the Leaf ninjas quickly fell back, careful so as not to be seen. "This is Genma. The explosive tags failed. We're falling back to your position." he said into his radio.

Further back, Kotetsu, Izumo, and Ibiki, as well as several others awaited the Gunmen as the second line of defense. They were soon joined by Genma and the other members of the first line. "So whats plan B?" Izumo asked.

"Depends if the kid is done yet..." Kotersu replied.

As they awaited the approaching Gunmen, they were shortly joined by Lagann coming up from beneath the ground. "Its all done." Naruto said as the dome opened up. "So you think this will work?"

"Probably not. This isn't likely to stop them, but it should buy us some time for the third line to finish getting ready." Ibiki said. "You guys fall back to the third line in the clearing. We only need one person here to watch them."

"Right." They said, and everyone else fell back except for Anko. She watched from a safe distance as the four Gunmen got closer. As they did, the ground suddenly collapsed beneath them, and they fell into a giant pit. They struggled a bit, but they weren't beaten yet.

Even further back, the first and second lines met up with the third and last line. "How are things going?" Genma asked Shizune as he approached her.

"We've finished setting up."she replied. "I'm sure glad we found these in the cave as well."

"_Hope you guys are ready, because they'll be there soon._" Ibiki informed them over the radio.

"Everybody, get ready!" Anko called out to al of the stationed ninjas. Naruto and Lagann stood in the center of the clearing, while everyone else stayed hidden.

They felt they cround shake as the large mecha entered the clearing. They looked around and saw only Lagann. "**Is this it? This small thing is the only thing here after those futile traps we ran into? HA! Konoha must be desperate now!**" the lead Gunmen, the red one, said. It laughed loudly, and the other three joined him.

"**If I were you, I wouldn't be laughing. You guys don't even know what you've got coming.**" Naruto said, his voice being projected through Lagann.

"**And what are you going to do, you little runt?**" the round green one asked.

"**Not me.**" Naruto said. Lagann then pointed behind itself. "**Her.**"

"**Huh?**" the round one said, not seeing anything. Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and a small object impacted into the forehead of the large one, knocking it back and causing it to fall on its back. There was small hole in its forehead where the object had impacted. Much further back, Tenten sat in a tree with a strange metal weapon, looking through a scope mounted on top of it. I had a long tube-like protrusion sticking out with a hole on the end.

-Flashback-

_"Hey what are these?" Anko asked as she called over Viral to a large chamber she had found. Viral, Naruto, and several others came over to where she was. It was a large room with several strange metal objects the likes of which were just as strange to them as the Gunmen._

_"These?" Viral asked as he walked in. "They're called guns."_

_"Guns?" Tenten asked as she walked in._

_"Yeah. They're weapons that shoot things called bullets. Don't really like them too much myself, so I never really used them."_

_"How do the work?" Naruto asked._

_"You just aim and pull the trigger-" No sooner than he said that, a loud sound went off in the cave as a shot was fired and most covered their ears since they were unfamiliar with such as sound, nor were they expecting it. They all turned to were it had come from and saw Tenten holding a larger rifle in her hands, looking through the scope on the top. Way on the other side of the cave, there was a hole where the bullet had hit, dead center in a large rock._

_"I think I like this thing." Tenten said as she lowered the weapon._

_-_End Flasback-

Just then, the members of the third line of defense came out from their hiding places, and began to open fire on the Gunmen withtheir own guns. The Gunmen were pelted with a hail of bullets, and the Gunmen covered their faces with their arms. Taking this oportunity, Naruto made Lagann run forward, and he was directly under one of the Gunmen's arms. Lagann's drills came out, and he was about to destroy the arms, but was suddenly knocked away as the red one drew its swords and swatted him away.

The red Gunmen then threw its other sword forward at where a group of leaf ninja were. "Fall back!" Anko said, as the group ceased their firing and fell back to avoid the giant blade. It then threw his second blade at the other group, and they fell back like the second group. Naruto was about to attack the red Gunmen, but was knocked away by one of the other Gunmen. Lagann was then kicked by yet another of the Gunmen. As the four Gunmen each took turns smacking around Lagann, Naruto was knocked all around in his cockpit.

"**Hey, we all don't need to be here.**" The red Gunmen said as it picked up its blades. It then pointed at the frog Gunmen and the round gunmen. "**You two go take care of the Konoha ninja. We'll handle things here.**"

"**Right.**" the two Gunmen said as the headed off to do as told. The other remaining Gunmen kicked Lagann towards the red one.

"**Say your prayers, kid.**" the red Gunmen said as it raised its blade over its head.

"Damn. I wouldn't be having a problem if it was ono-on-one. But everytime I try to go after one of them, one of the others stops me." Naruto said inside his cockpit as he quickly tried to get back in the seat to get away from the blade. However, it didn't look like he would be fast enough.

As the blade came down on Lagann, it was suddenly knocked away by another large object. The object landed in the ground, and it appeared to be a pair of gian black sunglasses. Their was then a sound of a gunshot, but this one sounded much louder. The large bullet knocked the red one down.

"**Looks like you bit off more than you could chew, as usual.**" a familar male voice said.

"**Don't be like that Sasuke. We came here to help Naruto, not berate him.**" another familar voice said, this one female.

Naruto then looked over to where the voices came from, and saw two large Gunmen. The first was recognized as Gurren, minus the sunglasses that now sat embedded into that ground next to Lagann. The second one was pink and purple, and had a cannon mounted on top of its head.

Inside the Lagann's cockpit, two images came up on the screen, both faces very familar to the blonde. "Sakura! Sasuke!" Naruto said, surprised to see them.

"Sorry we're late." Sakura apologized. "But we hurried as fast as we could to get these ones finished."

"You're lucky we got here just in time." Sasuke said.

Meanwile, as the other two gunmen cornered most of the other leaf ninja. There was a gunshot as Tenten fired on one of them from behind. While one of them stumbled, the other one threw a large rock at the tree she currently sat, knocking her to the ground as it was destroyed. "Damn..." she said, having dropped her rifle, causing it to land away from her.

One of the two Gunmen walked over to her while the other watched over the leaf ninja. Just as the Gunmen was about to pick her up, it was met by a large fist impacting into its face, knocking it down. Standing above Tenten was the large golden Gunmen that slightly resembled a star from the cavern. "**Sorry, but I won't allow you to harm one of my teammates.**" the Gunmen said, and Tenten instantly recognized the voice she heard.

"Neji? Is that you?" she asked out loud.

Then suddenly, another Gunmen leaped out and severed the arms of the other enemy Gunmen. The Gunmen's arms fell to the ground, and the Gunmen that had caused this placed its blade on top of its head.

"Hey, thats Enkidu!" Izumo said as he recognized it from the cavern as well.

"**Ah, just like old times.**" Viral said from the Enkidu's cockpit, the Gunmen mimicking its speech.

Neji's Gunmen stepped foward, and stood alongside Viral's Enkidu. "What did you say this one was called again?" Neji asked Viral over the Gunmen's communications.

"King Kittan. Its named after its old pilot." the beastman replied.

"Right." Neji said. "**Tell me, are you sure you want to continue?**" Neji asked, his Gunmen speaking as he did. "**With my King Kittan, and my partner's Enkidu, we have you outmatched since only one of you is able to fight now.**"

The sound ninja inside the other Gunmen considered this, and he knew that Neji was right. He stood little chance now, so he turned around and started to run. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't going to get away. As he started to run, Neji's Gunmen ran forward, and the horn on its front went up an met with the one on its back, closing the opnening. The King Kittan then rammed its 'stinger' through the fleeing Gunmen, then the two horns split apart, causing the Gunmen to explode. Then, before the other Gunmen could react, Viral's Enkidu quickly removed its blade from its head, and bisected he other Gunmen, destroying it as well. The leaf ninja all cheered loudly at the defeat of the sound village's Gunmen.

Back with Naruto and the other two, Sakura's Gunmen openned fire on the remaining two enemy Gunmen. "Sasuke, I'll cover you and Naruto with this Yoko M Tank, you and Gurren go help Naruto." she said over their comunications.

Sasuke did as she said, and Gurren ran forward and picked up the sunglasses he had thrown earlier. He then clashed swords with the Gurren look-alike. '_So these 'sunglasses' are actually a sword._' he thought to himself.

"**Our Gunmen may look similar, but yours will pale in comparison to my Gunzar!**" the red Gunmen said. However, as it said this, it found itself being pushed back.

"**Funny, cause it doesn't look like this 'Gunzar' of yours stands a chance against Gurren.**" Sasuke said through the Gurren. The Gunzar was then knocked to the ground by Gurren.

The other sound Gunmen was about to run to help his comrade, but found itself pelted not only by the large rounds of Sakura in the Yoko M Tank, but by the many leaf ninja who had returned to aid their own comrades. It was about to try to make a run for it, but Lagann suddenly came up from bellow the ground and destroyed one of its legs. It didn't last much longer, so the pilot attempted to make his escape by abandoning his Gunmen, but he didn't make it far until he was caught by Neji's King Kittan.

Back with Sasuke, he finished off the Gunzar as he stabbed the Gurren's sunglasses through its mouth. "**And that takes care of you.**" he said as the Gunzar exploded.

* * *

An hour later in the underground cavern, Naruto stood alongside Sasuke, Sakura, and Neji as the looked at Lagann, Gurren, Yoko M Tank, and King Kittan. "The Gunmen certainly are impressive." Neji commented.

"Yeah. If it weren't for them, the village would have been done for." Sakura said.

"And if it weren't for you guys, I would have geen done for." Naruto said as he put his arms around Sakura and Sasuke's shoulders.

"**You guys handled yourselves pretty well out there for your first**" Viral said from Enkidu as he came into the cavern carrying the last of the parts salvaged from Oto's Gunmen. "And pretty soon, we should have ther others completed soon." he said as he stepped out of Enkidu's cockpit.

"Pretty soon we'll be ready for whatever that snake bastard throws at us." Naruto said.

* * *

And there is the second chapter. As for the Gunmen that appeared this chapter, only Neji will be keeping the one he used throughout the story(besides Viral). Other than Neji with the King Kittan, here are who I plan to give each Gunmen to(Using the names from Bandai's english Gurren Lagann manga):

Kakashi, and much later, Sai - Dayakkaiser

Tenten - Moshogun

Hinata - Kiyalunga

Shikamaru - Iinzer

Chouji - Kid Knuckle

Genma - Sozorthine

Kotetsu & Izumo - Twin Boukun

I also have a few original Gunmen planned for some like Kiba, Shino, Lee, Anko, and others. And as said earlier in the AN at the start, the Gurren won't be Sasuke's(hes gonna be mostly pilotting it for the first few chapters), and the same goes for the Yoko M Tank and Sakura.

Please review.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Gurren Lagann

Got this out pretty quickly compared to last chapter, huh? Had a lot of inspiration, so I was able to get this out pretty quickly.

* * *

**Chapter 3  
Starting Today, I Guess That Makes Us Team Konoha!**

Naruto hovered down into the cavern with Lagann, ready for another day of work. The hole that everyone used to go down had also grown much larger since the attack the other day since their own Gunmen had burst up through it. He also looked at the workers finishing up their installation of a spiral staircase into the hole that would greatly speed up entry and exit instead of waiting turns to climb down a rope or to be pulled up. As he was about to head further into the cavern, he heard someone call out to him. "Hey! Naruto! Wait for a second!"

He looked up, and saw Iruka running down the staircase. "Iruka-sensei!" he said

"I just got back from a mission, and heard about all the crazy stuff thats been going on." he said. "So this is one of those Gunmen things everyone is talking about?" he said as he examined Lagann.

"You bet! Its a lot smaller than the others, but Viral says its one of the best there ever was!" Naruto explained proudly. "And, it only works for me!"

"Really now? Anyway, I heard about the situation, and I'm here to help everyone with the repairs. And then later you can tell me all about whats happened at Ichiraku over some ramen."

"You bet! Wait 'til you hear about how great I was!"

"I'm looking forward to it."

Down on Dai-Gurren, while repairs hadn't finished in the engine room, they had also began to restore the outside with the help of the Gunmen. On the large deck, Sakura was using the Yoko M Tank to help a group of people, including Ino, fix some of the many holes that littered it. "You sure are lucky to get to pilot one of those things, forehead." Ino said.

"**Quit always calling me that, Ino-pig!**" she responded.

"Whatever. But like I said, you're lucky to be able to pilot one of those. And alongside Sasuke, too." Ino said, saying the last part very enviously.

"**Naruto was there too, you know.**" she said. She may love Sasuke, but both of her teammates were very important to her.

"Oh right. That reminds me, he sure has changed since the accademy."

"**How so?**"

"Well, hes gotten a lot tougher, like how he even beat Neji during the chunin exams. And theres also just something about him that seems different than the way I remember him from back then."

"**I disagree. He hasn't really changed a bit.**"

"Huh?"

"**Hes the same as ever. Hes still the same loud and determined kid that everyone used to look down on and ignore. Whats really changed is that people aren't ignoring him anymore, and actually paying attention to him, and seeing that he isn't the really the way we used to think he was. He isn't some 'no talent little punk' like everyone used to believe. Hes really a great person, and hes a better ninja than I am. And hes saved me more times than I can count.**" the pink haired girl said fondly.

"Sounds like someone is showing a lot of interest in their blonde teammate. But what about Sasuke? You can't have both, you know. So why don't you leave him to me?"

"**Hey, back off Ino-pig! Hes just a friend! Sasuke is the only one I love, and I won't let you have him!**"

"Oh yeah?"

"**Yeah!**"

"Alright, thats enough squabbling between you two." Anko said as she walked up the group. "We still have a job to do, and we can't have you two arguing instead of working."

"**Yes ma'am.**/Yes ma'am." the two girls said in unison before getting back to work.

As they got back to work, Sakura noticed Tsunade just arriving on the deck of the Dai-Gurren. "**Hey Ino, you can take over for me in the Gunmen for a bit.**" The Yoko M Tank's mouth opened and Sakura hopped out. "I need to speak with Lady Tsunade about something." she said as she ran over to the Hokage.

Ino called out to her pink haired friend asking what she was doing, but the girl didn't respond. "Excuse me, Lady Tsunade!" she called out to get her attention before stopping in front of her.

"Yes, Sakura?" she responded.

Sakura bowed her head before the Hokage and declared her intentions. "Lady Tsunade, I humbly request for you to please allow me become your aprentice."

Tsunade was more than a bit surprised by the young kunoichi's request. "Where did this come from?"

"I want to help out better. Ever since I became a ninja, I feel I've been nothing but a burden to my team mates. They're always having to look out for me, yet I've never been able to do anything when it counts. But the other day, for the first time, I was actually able to contribute something and help them for a change. I really want it to stay that way. I want it to be that even when we aren't using Gunmen, that they can still count on me for a change." she said, her voice steeled with her resolve.

"Can I ask why you decided to come to me?"

"I heard from Naruto that he has recieved some training from your old teammate, Jiraiya, so I thought I could at the very least ask you." she said. She finally raised her head. "Even if you reject me, thank you for at least listenning to my request."

Tsunade stared at the girl, her eyes as full of determination as her voice had been. She then turned and started walking off towards the entrance to the interrior of the Dai-Gurren. "Meet me later tonight at my office. We'll start training as soon as possible. Though I warn you now, I'm not going to go easy on you." she said.

Sakura's face lit up with excitement and joy. She hadn't been sure from the start whether her request would be granted, but she had felt she at least had to ask. "Thank you, ma'am!"

"Don't thank me yet. The training will be very difficult, so you should thank me after you've actually gone through with it." Tsunade said as she continued to head inside the Dai-Gurren. '_Sakura Haruno. According to the accademy records and Kakashi's reports, the girl has potential, but has always lacked the drive to improve herself and always just seemed to focus on flirting with the Uchiha boy. But what I saw there was a clear determination to improve herself whatever the cost. I guess shes come a long way. We'll see if shes got what it takes after all_."

On the other side, Neji was using the King Kittan to aid a group in the repair of a large hole in the side of the hull. On top of the Gunmen, Tenten sat with the rifle strapped to her back. "Things sure have been moving along quicker in the past three days since the last attack." she remarked.

"**Thats to be expected.**" Neji reponded through the King Kittan. "**Our own Gunmen are an immense help in repairing the Dai-Gurren, since they can work on a much larger scale than normal sized people. And the parts that were salvaged from the last Gunmen attack have greatly aided in the repair of the other Gunmen, and the rest should be finished later today.**"

Tenten looked above to the ledge. She couldn't see them from this angle, but she knew thats where the other Gunmen were. "I wonder if I could pilot one of those things." she wondered out loud. She pulled the rifle off of her back and looked at it a bit. "This rifle is pretty cool, and I'm really glad Lady Tsunade said I could keep it, but I also want to be able give pilotting one of the Gunmen a shot, too."

"**Well, once the repairs are complete, why don't you just ask them? It can't hurt to at least try, right?**" Neji said.

"Yeah, I guess your right." Tenten said. "No harm in asking."

"Hey kid! Thats enough of a break! Now how about giving us a hand?" one of the workers said.

"Sure! No problem!" she responded and leaaped off the King Kittan to help the other workers.

In the engine room. Kotetsu , Izumo, and Genma were among those that were working on the repairs. It was around then Viral entered into the room, which caused everyone to look at him. Now due to his appearance, he often drew stares from others. However, that wasn't the reason this time. In place of the torn clothes he had been wearing before, he was now decked out in the standard uniform that Konoha ninja wore, plus his old cloak.

"Well, look at you! Finally ditched those rags you were always wearing." Kotetsu said.

"I gotta say, it really suits you." Izumo remarked. "What do you think, Genma?"

"I think you two need to get back to work." Genma responded as he adjusted his constant toothpick to the other side of his mouth.

"I agree." Viral said. "We still got a lot of work to do, and we don't know when more Gunmen will be back. We don't have time to slack off."

Not long after, Tsunade entered the engine room. She then looked around to inspect the progress. "So Viral, how much longer do you estimate until we're finished in here?"

"I still couldn't tell you for sure, but I think we might be done with it in another week." he answered. "After that, it shouldn't take too much longer to finish up the rest of the Dai-Gurren's repairs. Everything else will be far much simpler once this thing has power."

"Why is that?"

"Lets just say the power will get us some extra help."

* * *

Back in the village, Shizune stood in the hospital room of a certain genin. "You're sure you want to go through with the surgery?" she asked.

"Yea ma'am." Lee answered. "As I said, my only goal in life is to prove that I can be a great ninja, even if I can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu, so if I can not do that, then I'm already as good as dead to myself." he said with a fierce determination. "And not only that, but I wish to do everything that I can to help protect the village."

"I see." Shizune said. "Well then, I guess we should hurry up and get started. I'll conntact Lady Tsunade right away."

"Thank you ma'am."

Not too far from the hospital, Shikamaru and Chouji walked down the road. "Congratulations again, Shikamaru." Chouji said to his best friend.

"Thats the sixth time today you said that, Chouji." Shikamaru said. "You don't have to keep saying it over and over again."

"But you were just made a chunin!" Chouji said as he pointed at the flak jacket that Shikamaru now wore. The two had just come from the administration building where Shikamaru had just recieved his promotion.

"Don't remind me. The whole thing is just too troublesome if you ask me." the Nara boy complained.

"But if you ask me, you really deserve it. You may not be as strong as Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji, but you're just as good a ninja as them. Without your plans, we never would have made it past the second round of the exams, and its thanks to you that we completed some of our more difficult missions."

"Chouji is right Shikamaru." someone said from behind them, and they turned around to see their jonin sensei, Asuma Sarutobi.

"Asuma-sensei! Did you just get back from your mission?" Chouji asked.

"Yeah." he responded with a nod. "Shikamaru, like Chouji says, you definitely deserved to be made chunin. While you may not be as strong as some others, you're definitely a great ninja. You're one of the smartest people I've ever met, and you're a good leader. Now c'mon. This calls for a celebration, so lets get Ino and I'll take you guys to get some barbecue."

"Oh yeah!" Chouji cheered.

In another part of the village, Hinata was on her way to meet up with her team before heading down to the cavern with them. Ever since the first Gunmen attack a week ago, she hadn't had any missions with her team. Only the neccesary missions had been taken, with many of the D-ranks around the village being put on hold. The village was still recovering from the invasion by the Sound and Sand villages, and only the minimum amount of ninja were still present. Her sensei, Kurenai, had been sent out on a mssion just before the repairs on the Gunmen began.

As she continued her walk, she heard someone call out to her. "Excuse me! Sister! Please wait!" she turned around to see her younger sister, Hanabi, running after her.

"Hanabi? What are you doing here? What do you need from me?" Hinata asked. Despite her younger sister being seen by most of their clan as far more worthy than herself to become the head of the main family, Hinata and Hanabi dearly loved eachother, and were very close.

"Are you going down too that cavern beneath Konoha again today to help out? Can you please bring me with you?" she asked.

"Why do you want to come?"

"Konohamaru and his friends have been telling everyone in our class about how amazing the Gunmen down there are. We've all seen the one that was left in the middle of the village for a while, but he says the ones down there are even more amazing. I would really like to see them. So can you please take me with you?" Hanabi begged her sister.

"Um, okay. I don't mind." Hinata agreed.

"Thank you, sister." Hanabi said with a bow. As the two headed to her team's meeting place, where they saw Kiba and Shino already waiting.

"Hey Hinata." Kiba said to his female teammate with a wave of his hand, then noticed the other girl walking with her. "Huh? Whats your little sister doing with you?" he inquired.

"Hanabi wants to see the Gunmen, and she wanted me to bring her." she explained.

"Really? I don't see why she needs someone to bring her. I mean, everyone is free to come and go down there." the Inuzuka boy commented.

"The elders of our clan say that I'm too young to go too far from home by myself." Hanabi explained.

"Really?" Kiba asked. He wondered why they had placed such a restriction on the girl, despite him remembering Hinata never having the same problems. "I don't remember Hin-" Kiba began before Shino cut him off.

"I've heard Kurenai-sensei has returned today." Shino said, cutting the Inuzuka boy off. He had cut off the Inuzuka boy, figuring out exactly why the Hyuuga clan elders seemed to be more protective of young girl than her older sister. He didn't want his team mate saying anything stupid about the subject that might make Hinata uncomfortable. "We should wait a bit longer before heading down to the cavern to aid with the repairs."

"Thank you Shino, but I don't think you'll have to wait for me at all." a voice said, and their jonin sensei, and team leader appeared in front of them.

"Hello, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata greeted her.

* * *

In Oto's current base of operations, Orochimaru sat in a chair as he rewatched a recording of their last attempted attack on Konoha. His face was completely bandaged, as he was still adapting to the new body he had been forced to take. "So, on top of the small Gunmen that was first reported, the leaf also has four others." he stated, his voice not giving away how he felt about the situation. "Though I am intrigued that Sasuke appears to be pilotting one of them."

"So what shall we do?" Kabuto inquired.

"I think we should proceed as we have been. Actually, this new development works out quite nicely." Orochimaru said in a sinister tone.

In another plocation in the base, Sakon and three others also watched the footage. One of those was a girl with dark pink hair and a hat. "Those Gunmen of their's don't look too impresive. Seem like pieces of shit to me." she said.

"Tayuya, thats no way for a young lady to talk." said a larger boy that stood nearby.

"Shut up, fatass." Tayuya retorted.

"What about those other weapons they used? They don't look like much compared to the Gunmen, but they're at least strong enough to dent their armor." another boy with tan skin, and six arms said.

"Well, it doesn't concern us yet." Sakon said. "We were told to wait until our Gunmen have been completed."

"Speaking of which," Tayuya said. "I'd like to go take a look at them." She and the others got up and exited the room.

In a third part of the base, a pale boy with white hair was lying on a table with a countless amount of tubes sticking into his body as they pumped fluids into him, and his vital signs were monitored by computers. Sitting nearby was another boy with orange hair, who had his arms and legs chained together. "Dr. Kabuto says that they have made progress in curing you illness." the orange haired boy asked. "Is that true, Kimimaro?"

"Yes, it is, Juugo." the white haired boy, Kimimaro replied. "The information that they are using on the other project was also able to be used to develop a cure for me. Once I am back to being healthy, I look forward to being able to train with you again."

"Excuse me, but your time is up, Juugo." one of the guards in the room said as he put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "We have to get you back to your cell now."

"Alright." Juugo said as he stood up.

"Don't worry. Once I've recovered, you'll be able to roam freely more often, again." Kimimaro said to his friend as the boy was guided out of the room.

"You seem happier." Kabuto said as he entered the room.

"Do I?" Kimimaro asked. "I suppose I am. Since you informed me that you had fiund a cure for me, I've been relieved. Once I get my strength back, I shall be able to serve Lord Orochmaru again."

"Yes, but you won't be a candifate for his future vessel anymore. Hes currently very intersted in another boy, by the name of Sasuke Uchiha. He even has the counterpart to your Earth Curse Seal, the Heaven Curse Seal."

"If that is what Lord Orochimaru desires, then I will accept that. As long as I am able to serve him to the best of my abililties, then I will gladly give my life for him if that is what he wishes. That is the only purpose I serve." Kimimaro said.

"Your dedication to him is truly inspiring, Kimimaro. I guess that is why we are kindred spirits, you and I." Kabuto said as he took a syringe and pierced the neck as he injected a liquid into him, and Kimimaro screamed out in pain. "And there we go."

"How long until I am back on my feet?"

"You should be able to walk around by tomorrow. But you won't be able to fight like you used to for some time, but now you have no fear of succombing to this disease." Kabuto stated as Kimimaro drifted to sleep as a side effect of the medicine.

Deeper in the base, a girl with bright red hair and glasses was heading down into the base where the Gunmen wear being constructed and worked on. The girl, despite her young age, was one of those in charge of overseeing the construction of the Gunmen. She was one of his most loyal followers, though lower than Kabuto, Kimimaro, and the Sound Four. She wasn't as strong as them, but she was very useful to Orochimaru none the less. "How are things going?" she asked as she entered the area.

"Everything is going well, Karin." one the workers said.

"Good. And I head that we've been given the footage from the when we sent those Gunmen to attack a few days ago. I'd like to see it, so pull it up on a screen."

"Yes ma'am." another said as he typed in a command and the what she desired came up on screen. She watched everything, from when the Gunmen triggered the exploding notes to their defeat. From the footage, she had became very interested in the big red one.

"Hmmm, that voice sounds familar... Oh!" Karin said as she recalled an incident from more than a month ago. She had been one of the few that Lord Orochmaru had selected to acompany him to infiltrate the chunin exams in Konoha. During the second round, she had been seperated from her teammates, and was attacked by a giant bear. She had been afraid that she would die, until she had been saved by one of the other ninja participating in the exam. She hadn't forgotten the boy's voice, ad now she heard it coming from the Gunmen he identified as Gurren. She blushed at her memory of the boy's face.

"Hey Karin, how long until the Gunmen we'll be using are finished?" a voice called out, breaking her from her thoughts. she turned around and saw the Sound Four entering the area.

"They should be finished by the end of the week." she replied as she brought up an image of the progress on the Gunmen that would be used by them. "Unlike the others, these ones are a bit more complicated."

"Whatever. I just can't wait to take mine for a spin." the six armed boy said. "Actually, which one is mine, anyway?"

"This one, Kidoumaru. Its called Byakou." Karin explained as she pointed to the one with a spear. "Sakon already knows which one is being given to him and Ukon. And This big one is called Gember, which Jiroubo is getting, and Tayuya is getting the last one, called Sayrune. The four of them were some of the most powerful in the data that was discovered."

"Really?" Tayuya asked as looked over the one that would be hers.

Suddenly, the doors to room opened, and the bandaged figure of Orochimaru entered, and everyone present bowed to him immediately. "You may rise." he told them, and they did as told. "I'd like to check up on the progress of the other project." he stated as he continued walking towards a closed off room.

"Yes sir." Karin said as she followed in step behind him. "I lack your knowledge on such matters, but everything seems to be progressing much more smoothly since your last visit."

The large door opened up, and inside was a large chamber, with the walls lined with glass pods. Inside the pods were sleeping creatures, most of them looking at least humanoid in shape, but they were much more animal-like than human. There were some that looked like birds, with talons for arms, wings coming from their backs, and a beak where there mouths were. There were some that resembled feline creatures such as lions, tigers, and other large cats. There were some that looked almost as if they might be human, but a with few traits that gave away tha thet were not such as tails, claws, or other animalistic features.

"Yes, the first wave appears to be growing quite nicely." Orochimaru commented as he walked through the chamber. "These 'Beastmen' are growing quite nicely, indeed."

* * *

"Oh, wow!" Hanabi stated with child-like amazement as she sttod in front of the King Kittan.

"Hanabi? What are you doing here?" Neji asked as he was coming out of the Gunmen's cockpit.

"Wow, Neji! Is this yours?" his young cousin asked him.

"Yes. I was the one who pilotted it during the last Gunmen attack, and was made the primary pilot of it by Lady Tsunade." he explained to her.

"Really? That sounds so amazing!" she stated, and bombarded the boy with many questions about what it was like, and other things about the Gunmen. Nearby, Tenten watch with amusement as her teammate got a little uncomfortable about the situation. He cared for his cousin, but always found ger a bit difficult to deal with when she got like this.

Walking into the cave, Konohamaru and his friends Moegi and Udon saw her. "Hey, that Hanabi." Udon said.

"Whats she doing down here?" Moegi wondered.

"How should I know?" Konohamaru asked. The three of them had came down to see Naruto and spend time with him, but were now a bit more interested in their classmate nearby. "Hey, Hanabi!" Konohamaru called out to her as he and his friends walked up to her.

"Hm? Oh, hello Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon." she said with a bow.

"Pardon me, Hanabi, but I also need to get back to work." Neji said, already walking off without waiting for a reply. Tenten followed behind him, making a joke about what happened to the boy.

"So what are you doing here?" Konohamaru asked the youngest Hyuuga."

"I came to see the Gunmen that you and your friends told everyone about." she replied. "You were right, they are amazing!" she said with a smle.

Nearby, Tsunade and Viral, and several other ninjas stood looking at the other Gunmen, which were nearing completion. "Seeing as they're almost done, we should adress the matter of who is going to pilot them." Viral said.

"Yes, you're right." Tsunade agreed.

As this was said, the area seemed to get a bit quieter, many seemingly getting closer, or stopping what they were doing. All were interested for one reason or another.

"I suggest we leave the selection of pilots to Naruto." Viral stated. This caused some murmurs among the cavern. There were very few who still thought ill of the boy, but there was quite a few who questioned this suggestion.

"Any particular reason?" Tsunade questioned.

"Hes going to be our primary pilot out there since only he can pilot Lagann, so he needs to have those he trusts above all others out there to back him up."

"Makes sense. Alright then; we'll have Naruto help us select the pilots for these Gunmen." the Hokage stated. "Also Viral, as of right now, I'm appointing you the leader of Konoha's newly formed Gunmen squad. You've got the most knowledge about these things, so your expertise makes you the perfect choice for the job."

"I guess I am." Viral said. He couldn't help think that somethings would never change. It seemed that no matter how much time went by, he would always find himself in the same position. But for someone like him, he wouldn't have it any other way. "Its an honor."

* * *

Much later, Naruto stood and looked at all the Gunmen lined up, all now restored to a fully oporational state. To his right was Viral, and to his left was Tsunade, and right behind him stood Sasuke and Sakura. Many other ninjas had also gathered around. "So I've got to pick out who gets to pilot these things?"

"Yep. You're the most important pilot we have, so it should only be fair that you get a say in the matter, right?" Viral said.

"Don't put it like that. All the praise might go right to his head." Tsunade commented.

"Alright. I guess we should keep Sasuke and Sakura as pilots. They're my teammates, and I wouldn't want anyone esle watching my back." Naruto said as he glanced to the two behind him.

"I'm fine with that." Sakura said.

"I don't mind either." Sasuke said.

"And I guess we can keep Neji as well."

"If that is what you wish." Neji said nearby.

"Other than them... Lets save one for Kakashi-sensei when he gets back. I guess I'd like to have my whole team out there to back me up, you know?"

"Alright then. Anyone else you ave in mind?" Viral asked.

"Lets see..." Naruto said as he gave the matter some thought.

"How about my Teammate Tenten." Neji said as he came up besides the blonde. "Lets see... That one with the sword would be perfect for her. I don't think theres anyone in this village better with weapons than her, regardless of what they are."

"Sounds alright to me. Ok! Tenten is the pilot of..." Naruto began to exclaim as he pointed at said Gunmen, then trailed off as he realized he didn't know what it was called.

"Moshogun." Viral finished.

"Yeah! That one!"

"Right! You can count on me!" Tenten said as she came up to the group, almost running.

"Lets see, who else..." Naruto said as he looked over the Gunmen. "Whats with that one? Looks pretty simple compared to the others." Naruto commented as he pointed to a pink one.

"That one is the Kiyalunga. Its a support Gunmen for the King Kittan." Viral told him.

"Then I guess Neji should pick the person to get this one as well." Naruto said as he turned to look at the Hyuuga boy.

Nearby, Hanabi tugged on her sister's sleeve. "Why don't you volunteer, Hinata?" she said.

"W-what? Why me?" Hinata asked, more than a little caught off guard by her sister's quesyion.

"Because I think you would be the perfect choice! Don't you want to pilot one?"

"But I'm sure that there would be much better choices than me." Hinata said as she looked down, doubting that she had what it took to pilot like Naruto, Neji, and the others.

"No, I think shes right, Hinata." Neji said. "What do you say, Naruto? Hinata will be the pilot of the Kiyalunga."

"Sounds great to me! Alright, Hinata! Come on over here, you're part of the team now, too!" Naruto called out to the girl, whose face started to turn red with her blush. She slowly walked over to join the others, almost fainting. "Alright, next up is that green one."

"Thats Iinzer." Viral told him.

"Hey Naruto, I know its your choice." Asuma said as he walked over with his team. He then pushed Shikamaru over to the group. "But how about picking Shikamaru."

"Sounds good. Alright then, Shikamaru will pilot that one."

"Hey! Don't I get a say in this!" the lazy boy complained.

Ignoring the Nara boy's protests, Naruto then looked over to the one next to it, which looked kinda like a monkey. It was a bit wierd compared to the others, with it standing with its large arms, and its feet holding a pair of guns. "Hmm... Since we've got Shikamaru, how about you, Chouji? You want to pilot that one?"

"Ok. I don't mind." the Akimichi boy agreed, and stepped over to stand next to his best friend. "I'll make sure Shikamaru doesn't try to get out of doing this."

"That one is the Kidd Knuckle." Viral told him.

"Alright, next up..." Naruto said as he looked at the one that stood next to it. It was rather wierd as well, it had two faces side by side, with arms coming out of its mouths. It was also a bit big compared to the other ones. "Whats with that one?"

"Thats the Twin Boukun. Its a bit different from the others. It needs two pilots." Viral explained.

Seeing a chance and taking it, Kotetsu walked over to the group, followed by his partner Izumo. "How about us? Me and Izumo have been partners for years. We're probably one of the best teams of two in the entire village." he said.

"Uh, sure. Why not?" Naruto said. "I guess you two can pilot that one."

"Alright then. You can count on us." Izumo said.

"That just leaves two left. The on e that looks like Sakura's, that one will go to Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said.

"That one is the Dayakkaiser." Viral told him. "Which leaves us with the Sozorthine."

"Excuse me, Lady Tsunade." Genma said as he walked up to the group. "Not that I'm going to doubt any of their skills, since we're all pretty much at the same level when it comes to the Gunmen, but we shouldn't leave everything up to the kids. If its okay with you and the kid, how about I take the last one?"

"You've got a point. I don't want to stack up all the responsibilities on the kids alone." Tsunade agreed. "What do you say, Naruto? The decesion is up to you."

"I guess I don't mind." Naruto said. "So then I guess that settles everything!"

"I guess so." Viral said.

Naruto stood alongside all the chosen pilots. "Alright then! Starting today, I guess that makes us Team Konoha! And we're gonna be even better than that Team Dai-Gurren of yours was!" Naruto said as he pumped his fist into the air, and shouts of agreement rang out throughout the cavern.

* * *

"This is Enki, and its going to be yours, Kimimaro." Kabuto said as he gestured to the machine behind. The Gunmen was nearly identical to the Enkidu, with one major difference. Instead of the blade it mounted on top of its head, was a second, smaller, faceless head. On the forehead of this second head was a grey ring. On both hips was a sword. "Lord Orochimaru says that you are the one best suited to pilot this one."

"Then I shall pilot it to the best of my abilities." Kimimaro said. He sat in a wheelchair, and alongside him was the Sound Four.

"Once it and the rest of your Gunmen are finished, we're going to pay a little visit to Konoha." Kabuto said as he adjusted his glasses.

"I can't wait." Sakon said as he grinned wickedly.

"I'm not too fond of the idea of being the Sound Five once again, but I won't argue if its what Lord Orochimaru has ordered." Kidoumaru commented

"Whatever. We'll just show him how much stronger we've gotten while he sat on his ass in bed." Tayuya said.

"Tayuya, you know thats no way that a young lasy should talk." Jiroubo said.

"Don't you ever give it a rest, fatass? Geez, you're like a broken record all the time." the girl said.

"Thats enough, you two." Orochimaru said as he walked over to the group, and started to untie the bandages around his face.

"Yes sir." they said, as they and the other two kneeled in front of him. "Kabuto, how goes its construction?" he said as his long black hair flowed out of the bandages, and he placed what was his normal face upon his new one.

"Dai-Gunzandu should be completed at the same time as the others." he told him.

"Good."

* * *

And there is the third chapter. Not too much action, but I felt this chapter was a neccesary one. It sets up everything nicely. Please review.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Gurren Lagann

* * *

**Chapter 4  
Shut Up, And Don't Tell Me What To Do! **

Kakashi stood with Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura as he was in the cavern staring at the Gunmen he was being given. "A lot has happened since you left for that mission." Tsunade said.

"I can see that." the man replied in his usual bored sounding tone as he glance behind them at the Dai-Gurren. He had already been briefed on all that had gone on in the village since he had left. "So Naruto picked me to pilot this one?"

"Yes. The controls are fairly simple, but if you need any help, ask Sakura for some tips, since hers is similar to yours." Shizune said.

"Speaking of her, I'm going to be taking her on as my apprentice." Tsunade informed him.

"Really now?" Kakashi said with his eyebrow raised. "And what brought about this development?"

"She asked, so I thought I'd see if she has what it takes."

Kakashi sighed. "Well now, this is a bit unfortunate for me. I come back after two weeks, and I find out that I've lost two of my students."

"Two of your students?" Shizune questioned.

* * *

With Naruto, he was leading Viral to his favorite place to eat at, Ichiraku. "C'mon! Just wait until you try it!" he said as he ran ahead and gestured for the beastman to follow him.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Viral told him. "Kid sure has a lot of energy." he commented to himself.

When they arrived, they both took a seat at the counter. "So, you must be Viral." Teuchi said as he loked over the beastmen. "I've heard about you from Naruto and other customers, but you really are something you have to see with your own two eyes." he commented. "Not in a bad way." he added as he noticed Viral's glare.

"Anyway, give me the usual old man, and a beef ramen for Viral." Naruto ordered.

"Comin right up." Teuchi said.

"Heh. Just wait til you try the stuff!" Naruto said to Viral with a grin.

"Kid, you've said that nine times already." Viral remarked.

"Yeah well, thats because the stuff is that good." Naruto told him.

"I thought I'd find you here." a voice said, and an older man with a wild mane of long, spiky white hair sat next to Naruto.

"Ah! Pervy Sage!" Naruto stated in mild surprise. "Where have you been since we got back form finding Grandma Tsunade?"

"I was checking with one of my sources. I was gathering a bit of information on some things, and just got back." Jiraiya told him. "And based on whats been going on, it looks like you're gonna need the help of the great toad sage." he said with a grin.

"I don't know... You weren't much help the last time you fought Orochimaru." the blonde said.

"You idiot! You know damn well that I wasn't in at my full strength!" the older man said with annoyance at the boy. "Why, if I hadn't been under the effects of Tsunade's drug at the time, the fight would have been over before you could even blink!"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Naruto said, not caring anymore. "Oh, by the way, this here is Viral." he said as he pointed to the beastman, who nodded in acknowledgement.

"So you're the leader of the team who're gonna pilot those 'Gunmen' things? You're really aren't human."

"And you are?" Viral asked him.

"Me? Why I am a man who is known across the land by all! My enemies scream in terror at the mention of my name, and the ladies scream in adoration at its mention! I am the gallant Jiraiya, the toad sage!" he declared as his struck his signature kabuki-style pose.

Viral watched the spectacle before him play out, and remained silent for a few moments before he began to laugh loudly. "Sounds like he thought your introduction was a stupid as I did." Naruto commented.

"No. Its actually quite the opposite. I kinda liked it" Viral said as he stopped his laughter. "Reminds me of the good old days, back with my old team."

Not long after that Teuchi's daughter, Ayame brought Naruto and Viral's oders out. "Here it is. Enjoy." she said.

Naruto quickly began to slurp up the contents of his bowl, then looked over to Viral who had begun to eat as well. "So? What do you think?"

"Hmm... Its not bad. Not as amazing as you were making it out to be, but its still pretty good."

As Naruto finished up his meal, Jiraiya spoke up again. "Naruto, I've spoken with Kakashi, and I'm going to be taking you on as my own student from now on." he said.

"What? Why?" the blonde boy question.

"You remember those two who came after you?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto recalled the two from the mysterious organization, "Akatsuki" who had came after him. The strange looking man Kisame, and Itachi, who was Sasuke's older brother. "Yeah. How could I forget?"

"Its because of them. I'm going to be keeping an eye on you personally, as well as start training you so that you can defend yourself from them, as well as its other members, whoever they might be."

"Really? You're gonna train me?" Naruto asked, growing excited. "Are you going to be teaching me anything else like the rasengan?" he asked hopefully.

"Maybe." was all the older man replied with. "We'll be staying here in Konoha for a while so that we can help out with protecting it from Orochimaru's Gunmen."

* * *

In one of the training grounds, Lee, Kiba, and Shino sat to the side, watching their teammates face off against eachother in their Gunmen as they practiced. Neji's King Kittan stood across from Tenten's Moshogun. His Gunmen also now possessed a pink shield and spear, which was Hinata's Gunmen, the Kiyalunga.

Using the shield, Neji blocked the sword attacks from Tenten's Gunmen with ease. "Are you alright?" Neji asked Hinata over their communications.

"I'm fine. Please don't worry about me, Neji." she replied. Her cockpit had shaken from each hit, but she didn't want Neji or Tenten to go easy on her. She desperately wanted to improve herself, and to be of use to everyone. "I have to get used to it. Enemies won't be nice enough to hold back when attacking."

"Shes right, Neji." Tenten said. "Besides, Hinata has to be tougher than you think. She stood up to you, afterall. At the very least, shes got guts."

Neji closed his eyes for a minute, before repplying. "If you you both insist, then I shall respect your wishes, Hinata." Their Gunmen then continued their fight.

Meanwhile on the sidelines, their teammates watched the exchange between the two machines. "Man, they sure are lucky they got picked to pilot those." Kiba said enviously. "What I wouldn't give to have one of my own."

"Its to be expected." Shino reasoned. "We only have a limited number of Gunmen, so not all of us can pilot one."

"Yeah, I know."

"I only wish I had recovered sooner." Rock Lee stated. "I also wish I could have pilotted one."

"Man, if only we had more of them..." Kiba grumbled.

* * *

Down in the Dai-Gurren's engine room, people continued to work endlessly, hoping that their work would soon be complete, and power would be restored to the fortress Gunmen. "Man, how much longer until we're done?" one ninja complained.

"I know, its been two weeks since we started working on this thing, and we're still not done." another said.

"It feels like we'll never finish." a third said.

"Alright, thats enough complaining." Genma said to everyone. "Its not gonna make the work any faster."

"You can't blame them for getting restless, Genma." a shinobi who wore sunglasses, Aoba Yamashiro, said.

"Yeah, we all just want this work to get and over with." another who had scar on the left side of his face, Raidou Namiashi, said. "If only-" he began as he connected two wires together, when suddenly they heard a noise as the engine began to start.

Outside the Dai-Gurren, the attention of everyone in the cavern was drawn to it as lights began to turn on all across it

* * *

Word that the Dai-Gurren's engine was on spread across the village fast, and many began to gather in the cavern to see it start up.

On its bridge, Tsunade, Shizune, Jiraiya, those who would pilot the Gunmen, and many others began to gather there. Many of them looked at all the machines that had come to life on it with curiosity.

"It shouldn't be too hard to finish up fixing up the bridge." Viral said as he walked in, carrying a strange box with him. "We'll also need to assign people to be stationed here to keep an eye on stuff like the radar."

"Hey, whats that box you've got there?" Naruto asked.

"This? Well, you'll see, since its kinda hard for me to explain, but its pretty important. But some of you won't like it." Viral replied. "Like anyone male." he added under his breath as he opened a panel on a machine, and hooked some wires up to he box. He then closed the panel, leaving the box in inside. "Some of you might want to leave before its too late."

Everone stared at him with a questioning look, as Viral closed his eyes, though he had an uncomfortable expression on his face.

Before anyone could ask him what he meant, there was a sudden voice caught their attention. "Helloooo~" it greeted them in a cheeful, effeminate tone. Standing in the center of the room was a man with bright green hair, and a face that appeared to be adorned with make up.

Many were caught off guard by his either his sudden appearance, or his appearance period. "Everyone, meet Leeron." Viral introduced.

"Charmed." he greeted them. He then took a look around. "Now, would you care to explain whats going on, Viral?"

"I'll get to it later. But right now, we're gonna need you help repairing the Dai-Gurren." the beastman told him.

"Uuuuhhh... Can someone tell me whats going on?" Kiba asked. "Who the hell is this weird-looking guy?"

"'Weird-looking?' How rude! You just can't apreciate my beauty." Leeron said as he got in Kiba's face, and the Inuzuka flinched, and attempted to push the man away, but his hands passed righ through him.

"Leeron here used the be the mechanic of Team Dai-Gurren back when he was alive." Viral said.

"What do you mean by 'Back when he was alive?'" Shizune asked.

"Well hunny, you see, I'm not really human anymore. A long time ago, when I was nearing the end of my life, I chose to under go a procedure to turn myself in a Bio-computer. I figured that I still had a lot my genius could offer."

"Uh, whats 'Bio-Computer?'" Sakura questioned.

"Well, you see a Bio-Computer is-" Leeron began, but was interrupted as another spoke up.

"Hey, I'd hate to interrupt this "fascinating" conversation," Sasuke said, not really sounding interested at all, "But whats with this one screen with the flashing lights?"

"Hm? You mean the radar?" Leeron asked, and he vanished and reappeared next to Sasuke and looked at said screen. "Oh my. Are you all expecting a visit from anyone with some big machines?"

* * *

Walking slowly towards the village was a massive Gunmen that resembled the Dai-Gurren, but it was quite different as well. It was mostly white, and its face beared a striking remblance to Viral's Enkidu, and even had a similar looking blade mounted on top of it. It also possessed a second pair of arms.

Sakon grinned wickedly as he stood near the front of the Dai-Gunzandu's deck as it walked forward. Behind him was his Shuzack, and he was anticipating his first time using it. "Too bad this big thing can't fly yet."

"Sorry, but the Levisphere is pretty complex, so we haven't made too many yet." Karin said as she ran some last minutes checks on the Gunmen that all stood on the deck. Other than Sakon's Shuzack, there was Tayuya's Sayrune, Jirobou's Gember, Kidoumaru's Byakou, Kimimaro's Enki, and several more Gunmen, and there was even more inside. All were preparing for the attack on what they all assumed was an unsuspecting Konoha. "Right now, your Shuzack is the only Gunmen capable of flight that we have."

"Why does he get it, then?" Tayuya asked as she stood nearby.

"Well, he was the leader while Kimimaro was still sick, so-" Karin began to reply.

"Ah, shut up." Sakon said to cut her off. "I'm still not too fond of my demotion."

"Where is Kimimaro anyway?" Kidoumaru asked.

"Hes still inside. He won't be joining you all right away." Karin informed them. "Since his body is still recovering, he can only fight for a limited amount of time before being weakened."

"Fine then. Thats just more fun for the rest of us." Sakon commented.

"Unfortunately, you'll all have to wait your turn." Kabuto said as he walked up to the group.

"What? Thats no fun."

"Don't worry, you'll all get your chance."

* * *

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! We need to hurry!" Naruto yelled as he scrambled into Lagann and inserted the Core Drill to start it up.

"Shut up, idiot." Sasuke said as he leaped into the Gurren.

"This is no time to argue, you two!" Sakura said over their communications from the Yoko M Tank.

"**Lets go, team! Considering its a fortress Gunmen approaching, theres no telling how many Gunmen we'll have to deal with. So lets kick all of their assess as quickly as possible!**" Viral said through Enkidu. The team of Konoha's Gunmen all quickly raced out of the cavern.

"Hello? Is this thing on?" Shizune's voice came over the communications before an image of her came on the screens of all of the Gunmen.

"Yeah, we hear you." Viral replied.

"Great! So this thing still works after all." she said, sounding relieved. "Anyway, we're going to be coordinating the village's defense from the Dai-Gurren's bridge, and giving you orders from here."

"Rodger." Everyone replied.

Tsunade then came on screen as well. "We're sending out everyone we can armed with guns, but you all will be the primary line of defense, so its all up to you guys."

"Right!"

As they all walked out the front gate, Lagann stood at the head of the bunch, and standing behind it was Gurren, Yoko M Tank, and Dayakkaiser, and behind them was the rest of the Gunmen. Several ninjas were also coming out of the gate.

"This is the first time we'll be pilotting in actual combat for a lot of us." Tenten commented. She worked the controls, and Moshogun drew its sword.

"And this will be my first time pilotting at all." Kakashi said.

"Don't worry. If we all have eachother's backs, then we'll all be okay." Naruto said.

"Hey, I think I can see it." Kotetsu said.

They all looked towards the horizon, and sure enough, they saw the massive figure slowly approaching. Everyone tensed up with each step it took. Some of them wondered how they would fight something like it. It was much larger than any of their Gunmen, after all, and the Dai-Gurren may now be on, but it wasn't ready to move yet.

Suddenly, the behemoth Gunmen stopped moving. As they watched, they grew perplexed as they saw it swing its four massive arms.

"Whats it up to?" Genma questioned out loud.

"**Get ready! Here they come!**" Viral yelled out, and then they saw it. Flying right at them were Gunmen, which the Dai-Gunzandu had thrown at them. As the Gunmen landed, the mssive figure wasn't done as it threw even more at them.

* * *

"Dammit, why do we have to wait, anyway?" Sakon complained as he sat in the Shuzack's cockpit.

"We're just giving them a quick test." Kabuto informed him. "We want to know what their Gunmen are capable of first."

"So then when can we join in?"

"As soon as we give you the signal, you can fly ahead, and we'll throw your team mates to join you."

"Just be patient. We'll get our fun." Tayuya said.

"I hope so." Kidoumaru said, gripping his controls with one pair of arms while he cracked the knuckles of another pair.

* * *

Back with the Konoha forces, they had scattered about to best combat the attacking Gunmen, and had broken up into teams. Gurren and Enkidu ran at a group of attacking Gunmen, and both drew their respective blades and swung them at the nearest enemies, while Lagann emerged from the ground, destoying a leg of the Gunmen it emerged beneath.

Using the Yoko M Tank and Dayakkaiser, Sakura and Kakashi were attempting to shoot down some of the Gunmen as they were being thrown, since there. Sakura's aim wasn't the best, so she didn't hit all of her targets. Kakashi however shot down more than a few. "Guess this thing is easier to work then I thought." he said.

With Neji, Hinata, and Tenten, Hinata's Gunmen transformed into the shield and spear from earlier, and the King Kittan grabbed them. They defended themselves from a group of Gunmen that had charged at them, while Tenten attacked the enemies as Neji defended.

With Shikamaru and Chouji, they had accompanied a large group of Konoha ninjas to protect them from the enemy Gunmen. Genma, Kotetsu and Izumo stayed back to defend the entrance to the village.

* * *

"Looks like they're holding up fairly well." Kabuto commented as he watched the screen of the battle going on. "And they have more Gunmen than last time."

"What are your orders?" one of the bridge members asked.

"Tell the second wave that they can head out."

"Rodger."

* * *

Back with the Konha team, Lagann avoided a large fist that attempted to crush his mini-Gunmen, and the enemy was promptly delt with as Gurren's sunglasses sword cut of its arm.

"**Heh. This isn't so hard.**" Sasuke commented. "**They may have the advantage of numbers, but they're pretty pathetic.**" he said as he looked over at a group of enemy Gunmen. Not liking being called pathetic, they charged at him. He blocked the sword of one of them with his own, then

"Careful everyone!" Shizune said over their communication. "Theres a small force of enemy Gunmen approaching from the forest!" she informed them.

Several shots came from the forest, and the Konoha Gunmen defended themselves from the attack. "Dammit, they're using the forest as cover." Sakura said as she tried to lock onto any ememies, but they dashed back as she turned their way.

"We'll split up. Since smaller target will be harder to hit in there, all of you wathout a Gunmen, head into the forest. Use the trees as cover. Shikamaru, Chouji, you two go as back up." Viral ordered, and everyone did as told.

"What about us? What will we do?" Naruto asked.

"We're staying here. Its obviously a distraction." Viral said. "With Dai-Gunzandu, they can just throw Gunmen here, so if we all go chasing after them, then that leaves the village unguarded, and they just throw a bunch into the village to wreck the place."

"Oh, I get it." Naruto replied.

* * *

In the forest, the konoha ninja ran after the Gunmen. Among them were Jiraiya, Anko, Kurenai, Asuma, and many others. Though guns were still relatively new to them, many Konoha ninja had been practicing with them to increase their skills.

Running through the forest, Shikamaru openned a communications link to the Dai-Gurren and the ninjas. "Hey everyone, this is the perfect opportunity for a trap." he said. "Shizune, that radar thing can detect the Gunmen hiding in the woods, right?"

"Yes. We've got a reading on each of them, plus your own."

"I'm willing to bet that the big Gunmen has radar just like Dai-Gurren, so it probably knows where Chouji and me are. But the radar can't detect people outside of the Gunmen, like Asuma-sensei and the others. And based on what they're trying, I think its safe to say that they don't know that we have the same thing that they do."

"I get where you're going with this, kid." Anko said into her radio. "You want your teammate and you to act as bait while we get them from behind."

"Exactly. Its gonna be troublesome, but it'll be even more troublesome if they beat us."

"We've gotta be careful, though." Asuma said. "Its likely that we'll only get one chance. If we launch our attack and fail, then they'll be ready for our sneak attack."

* * *

"Looks like they didn't take the bait." Kabuto said as he saw most of Konoha's Gunmen remain. "I was hoping that more would chase after the decoys, but I guess it was a fairly obvious diversion.

"Sir, it looks like they've taken out the first wave. They've destroyed most of the Gunmen, and the ones left are too damaged to fight back now."

"I see." Kabuto said as he adjusted his glasses. "Sakon?"

"Yes sir?" Sakon asked in anticipation as his image came up on screen.

"I think its time. You can go on ahead, and we'll throw the others to join you."

"Don't bother; there won't even be any left."

"Kimimaro?"

"Yes?" Kmimaro responded as his image came onto the screen as Sakon's disappeared.

"We'll be sending you out as well. Just be careful, and keep track of how long you've been out there."

"Of course."

On the deck outside, Shuzack floated up just as Enki walked onto the deck. Shuzack flew off towards the village while the Dai-Gunzandu picked up each of the four remaining Gunmen.

* * *

"**That takes care of these punks.**" Tenten said through Moshogun as it cut an enemy Gunmen in half.

"**Don't relax yet.**" Kakashi said through Dayakkaiser.

"**It looks like its getting ready to send some more Gunmen.**" Sakura said as the Yoko M Tank pointed towards the Dai-Gunzandu.

"**Ha! We can take anything they send at us. In fact, I'll beat-**" Sasuke began to say through Gurren, but was cut off

"Incomming high-speed object!" Shizune said over the radio.

No sooner had she said that, a blur colided with Gurren, and it and the blur went flying through the wall surrounding the village.

"**Sasuke!**" Naruto and Sakura yelled out.

Through the dust cloud caused by the machine crashing through the wall, they could see the Gurren on its back, with a winged figure standing on it. "**Sorry for cutting you off, but I just hate to hear talk like that from someone who can't back it up.**" it said.

Sakura wasted no time in firing her Gunmen's cannon at the figure, but before the shot hit its mark, it flew straight up into the air. "**It can fly?**" Sakura was suddenly sent flying as something colided with her Gunmen.

"**Don't worry about him right now.**" a female voice said to her, and she turned to see a giant mechanical scorpion. "**Because you're about to die!**" it said as it transformed into a feminine figure, with its eyes on what looked to be its breasts, and a mouth in its crotch area. Coming from its back were also what looked like wings with a eye in the center. Said wings then came off of its body, and combined to form a spear with a blade on both ends. "**Now die!**" it yelled out as it charged at the Yoko M Tank with its weapon.

Sakura's Gunmen was still on its back, struggling to get up. When it looked like she wouldn't make it, she closed her eyes as she braced herself for her fate. When nothing happened, she opened her eyes to see Moshogun had blocked the spear with its sword. "**Tenten!**"

"**Don't tell me thats all you've got, Sakura. You're supposed to be Lady Tsunade's aprentice now.**" the older girl said.

"**Two on one now, is it? Fine.**" the enemy Gunman said as it leaped backwards, restoring its spear into its wings, and energy whips were released from its hands as they wrapped around the two Gunmen and threw them behind it. "**I'll take both of you on!**"

"**Tenten!**" Neji called out, and was getting ready to come to the aid of his teammate, but leaped to the side as he saw something else coming at him from above with his byakugan. Just as his feet left the ground, the enemy Gunmen pointed a spear at him.

"**Condemnn Blaze!**" it yelled out as a blast of energy shot out from the spear, causing an explosion where Neji had been moments before. **"Nice reflexes! I'm Kidoumaru, and this my Byakou!**" the Gunmen said as it landed. Its body looked like a skull with another head on its forehead. On its shoulders, forearms, and thighs also were blue blades. "**Though you won't need to remember it once I've killed you, 'King Kittan!'**" it declared as he thrusted his Gunmen's spear, which the King Kittan deflected with its own.

"**You, kill me? Thats a pretty bold statement.**" Neji retorted.

"**Oh, so you've got _some_ skill.**" Kidoumaru said. "**But do you have enough?**" The Byakou began to thrust its spear in rapid sucsession, while the Knig Kittan could barely keep up. It was just managing to defend itself with its shield and spear, and couldn't manage to retaliate with attacks of its own.

"Damn, his machine is faster..." Neji said to himself in his cockpit. "Are you alright in there, Hinata?"

"I'll b-be f-fine." she responded.

Kakashi aimed his Gunmen's cannon at the back of the Byakou, and fired. He intended to take it out as it was distracted by Neji, but another Gunmen landed right in the shots path. The bullet left no noticecable damage. The Gunmen looked like a round bug with needle-like legs, with a face on its back.

"**Was that it?**" The Gunmen asked before it transform, becoming a muscular looking Gunmen with another face in the center of its upper-body, with antennae coming out from the top. "**Its'll take a lot more than that to damage my Gember.**"

"**Kakashi! Be careful!**" Genma called out as hus Gunmen, and Kotetsu and Izumo's Twin Boukun ran to stand beside him.

"**We've got your back.**" Izumo said as the two Gunmen stood behind the Dayakkaiser.

Viral was just about to run to help then, but was cut off as a Gunmen landed right in front of him. "Well, well. Look at all the familar faces today. Especially this one. It really takes me back." he said to himself as he looked on at the Enki that now stood before him. It wasted no time in drawing its swords and running at him. He parried the swords to the best of his ability, but it was quite dificult with only a single blade.

"**Your Gunmen is very similar to mine. But it looks like mine is superior.**" the Enki said, it prepared to stab through the cockpit with a blade, but it was knocked aside as the black sunglasses of the Gurren colided into it, knocking it from Enki's hand. "**Oh? Do you want to fight me?**" it asked as it turned to face the Gurren. It then stepped back just as Lagann burst out from the ground, and kicked it right into the Gurren. "**Heres a tip: Don't use a trick too often, or the enemy will start to catch on.**"

"**Shut up, and don't tell me what to do! I don't need a lecture on how to fight from the enemy!**" Naruto yelled back as Lagann stood up.

"**Fair enough.**" Enki's pilot responded. Behind it, Viral and his Enkidu was just about to strike it with its blade, plus Gurren's sunglasses, but it was suddenly carried up into the air as the fly Gunmen rammed into it.

"**Hey, if my opponent wants to fight Kimimaro, then its only fair that you fight me in his place.**" it said as it flew upwards.

"**Damn it.**" Viral yelled. "**Sasuke, catch!**" He yelled out as he threw the Gurren its sunglasses.

It managed to catch them just as Enki began its assault on the red Gunmen, though it managed to hold its own easily due to the fact that the enemy was curently only holding one of its swords.

* * *

Back in the forest, Chouji and Shikamaru found themselves surrounded by the enemy Gunmen. They appeared to be finished, but the enemy suddenly found themselves suddenly unable to move. They looked down to see mud forming beneath their feet, and they were starting to sink into it. They were then about to raise their guns when long tongues knocked them out of the Gunmen's hands.

"Fire!" someone yelled, and they opened fire and pelted the Oto Gunmen with their hail of bullets. Being unable to mave, and having no way to retaliate, the Gunmen were easily taken out, with some of their pilots opting to abandon their machines before their destruction.

"**And that takes care of that! Great plan Shikamaru!**" Chouji said through the Kidd Knuckle.

"We have an emergency back at the village gate!" Shizune nearly yelled into the radio. "Five powerful Gunmen have appeared, and Naruto and the others are having trouble dealing with them!"

"We better hurry up and get back and help them." Jiraiya said as he stood atop one of the two toads he had summoned.

"Wait! I'm getting a reading... Theres still one enemy Gunmen left!" Shizune said over the radio.

"**What?**" Shikamaru said, then something burst out from beneath his Gunmen. As it came up, they saw the Gunmen, which was black and resembled a cobra, with yellow eyes on the part that resembled the cobra's hood, and a short tail coming out from the back. Its arms and legs were pretty skinny.

"**Looks like your little trick didn't work on me!**" the Gunmen yelled.

"Shikamaru, you and Chouji head back to the village!" Asuma ordered the two. "Leave this thing to us!"

"**But-**"

"No buts! You two have Gunmen, so you'll be a lot more help than the rest of us! And from the sound of it, they need all the help they can get"

"**Allright. But don't any of you die!**" Shikamaru said as e and Chouji started to run in the direction of the village.

"**And where do you think you're going?**" the enemy Gunmen yelled out as it prepared to leap at the two Konoha Gunmen, but was stopped as two large toads blocked its way, with one of them knocking the Gunmen back.

"Don't think that we'll just let you chase after them! After all, I, the gallant Jiraiya, shall not allow you to get any closer to the village!" he declared triumphantly.

Unfortunately, the Gunmen wasted no time in digging under the ground.

"Damn it! I forgot it could do that!" he yelled out as he grabbed his head in shame.

"We better head back to the village. We know where its heading, so we should go there as well." Asuma stated. He then looked ober to Kurenai, who seemed to be looking around with a puzzled expression. "Whats wrong?"

"Wheres Anko?" she asked as she continued to look around.

* * *

Underground, the cobra Gunmen continued to dig its way closer to the village gate where the Sound Five was currently fighting off Konoha's Gunmen. "If I help them out, I'm sure to get into Lord Orochimaru's good graces." the pilot commented to himself as his Gunmen continued to dig forward. He then felt something near his feet, and looked down, but saw nothing. Brushing it off, he return his focus to his task, when he suddenly felt something near his back, but when he looked, there was still nothing. Now starting to become a little more paranoid, he returned his attention to digging, when he suddenly felt the same thing, but in multiple places. When he looked down, he saw that there was several snakes now at his feet.

Ironically, despite being given a snake-like Gunmen to pilot, and despite who his boss was, he was deathly afraid of snakes.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! SNAKES! NOT SNAKES!" he yelled out in fear as he made his Gunmen emerge from beneath the earth early. He then open his cockpit to attempt to get them out. Shortly after opening it, he briefly saw something in his vision move behind him. After that, his life was ended as bullets simultaneously pierced his skull and heart.

Anko watched his corpse fall to the ground as she depsited her two pistols into the holsters she now wore on her hips. "Well now, that was a lot easier then I expected! Didn't even have to fight the Gunmen at all." she said with a laugh. Then, something occured to her as she turned around to stared into the empty cockpit.

* * *

Back at the village, Sasuke in the Gurren continued his fight with Kimimaro and Enki. Naruto occasionally would jump at him, only for Lagann to be brushed aside by a kick from Enki. While he clearly had the upper hand, in truth, Kimimaro was holding back. He knew that Lord Orochimaru wanted Sasuke to be his next vessel, so he wouldn't dare to kill the Uchiha boy. However, he was under orders to fight the boy.

With Sakura and Tenten, they were doing there best to keep Tayuya and her Sayrune at bay. Even though it was two on one, it was clear that Tayuya was stronger than them. She would constanly switch between transforming her wing-like attachments into her weapon, then using her Gunmen's energy whips to throw one of her opponents into the other. She was under no such orders not to kill these two, with the only thing saving them was the fact that they were watching out for eachother.

With Neji and Hinata, they were only managing to defend themselves from Kidoumaru thanks to Neji's byakugan and quick reflexes. Kidoumaru had chosen Neji as his original opponent after watching the footage of the last Gunmen attack, hoping for a challenge, but was finding himself to be disappointed. For Neji, the opposing machine was stonger than his own, and he was only still alive thanks to the weapons that Hinata's Gunmen provided for him.

Kakshi, Kotetsu, Izumo, and Genma weren't fairing well at all. Jirobou and his Gember were tough. The Dayakkaiser's bullets had little effect at all, so he was nearly useless against. And in close combat, the only one of the three Gunmen that had enough strength to match it was Kotetsu and Izumo's Twin Boukun, though it still wasn't much.

In the sky, Sakon in the Shuzack had flown high into the sky before dropping Viral's Gunmen, leaving the Enkidu freefalling dangerously. However, shortly before it hit the ground, the flying Gunmen rammed into Enkidu, throwing it through the village wall. "**It would be pretty boring to just finish you by just letting you fall.**" Sakon taunted.

Before the dust caused by the damage cleared, Enkidu chared out, ready to attack Shuzack with its blade. Unfortunately, Shuzack flew up to avoid it, and quickly came down behind Viral's achine.

"**Majestic Big Chopper!**" Sakon yelled out as a buzzsaw formed in its hand, and flew at Enkidu from behind. Viral's reflexes saved the majority of his Gunmen, but Enkidu still lost an arm from the attack.

Enkidu hed the spot where its left arm used to be. "Damn, it looks like we're really taking beating out here..." Viral said to himself.

The Dayakkaiser and Sozorthine were knocked to the ground, and the Gember knocked the Twin Boukun away. it then turned its attention to the two Gunmen on the ground. Seeing an opportunity to finish some of them, it then appeared to curl up up into a ball and roll at them at at great speed. "**Gember Press!**" Jirobou called out as the Gunmen raced towards Kakashi's and Genma's.

However, before they were flattened by the Gember, another Gunmen jumped in its way, and managed to stop it advance. It was Chouji's Kidd Knuckle, currently using its large arms to hold back the Oto Gunmen, though it was still rolling, slowly pushing him forward. "**Sorry, but I'm not gonna let you turn them into pancakes!**" was all Chouji said, struggling to stop the rolling tank completely. Lucky for him, the Twin Boukun was quick to aid him, and attacked the Gember from behind, aided as well by Shikamaru's Iinzer.

Back with Viral, he was still struggling against Sakon, just barely managing to avoid the flying Gunmen's assault. As the Enkidu was knocked to the ground, the Shuzack's pilot decided to end this as he flew at the Gunmen with its buzzsaw, ready to destroy it completely. However, just as it's attack was about to connect, a Gunmen emerged from the ground and rammed into the Shuzack, knocking it off of its intended course. Everyones attention, Konoha and Oto, was drawn to this new arrival.

Shikamaru and Chouji stared at it, recognizing it as the one from the forset. Coincidentally, Asuma and the others were also just returning to the battle, wondering what was going on as well.

"**What the hell? Isn't that one of ours?**" Sakon as as he stared at the black cobra Gunmen standing in fromt of the Enkidu.

"**Yeah, it is.**" the cobra Gunmen said with a voice that belonged to a female. "**Or at least, it was.**"

"Hey is that...?" Kurenai asked, recognizing the voice, and many other of Konoha's ninjas did as well.

"**But, as of right now, this Gunmen now belongs to me, Anko Mtarashi!**" she said, pointing one of the Gunmen's hands at its chest. "**I think I'll call it something like 'Ankobra.'**"

"**Hahaha! Hijacking an enemy Gunmen. You people really are like my old team!**" Viral said as Enkidu got back on its feet. "Hey, keep this thing busy for a bit. I'm gonna go help Naruto and Sasuke." he then said over the communcation.

"Gotcha."

And with that, Viral ran towards where the Enki was fighting against Gurren and Lagann. The Shuzack tried to give chase, but it was knocked off course by a bullet that struck it. "**Looks like my bullets work better on you than the big one.**" Kakashi said from the Dayakkaiser.

Gurren was currently on its back, a sword being held mere inches over the cockpit, and Lagann was beneath Enki's feet. Unforunately, Enki was stepping on it just right so that it could use its drills on either it or the ground. "**You're both pathetic.**" Kimimaro said. His instincts then warned him, and he jump back just in time to avoid Enkidu's blade. He then landed right where his other blade had fallen earlier, and tossed it to his free hand with his foot.

"Sasuke, I need to switch Gunmen with you for a bit." Viral said over the radio.

"What? Why?" the Uchiha boy asked.

"Lets just say theres something I need to do, and I can only do it with Gurren." Viral said. "If its any consolation, you can borrow my Enkidu while I'm not using it."

"Tch. Fine." Sasuke said, and Gurren's cockpit opened, and Enkidu's as well. The two leaped into the other Gunmen, and they reactivated them. "Don't know how you expect me to fight with just one atm, though."

"**Alright Naruto, we're gonna do _that_.**" Viral said through the Gurren as it placed the sunglasses back onto its face.

"**'That?' What are you talking about?**" Naruto asked through Lagann as the Gurren picked it up.

* * *

"Oh my! Looks like we're all in for a real treat!" Leeron commented, and Shizune and many other turned to stare at him, wondering what he meant.

* * *

"**Isn't obvious? WE"RE COMBINING!**" And with that, the Gurren slammed Lagann into the top of it, and Lagann formed a drill from the bottom which dug right through Gurren.

As he did, the was a flash of bright Green light, which drew the attention of everyone.

"**Long ago, there was force that was unmatched throughout the galaxy...**" Viral said. As he did, Gurren legs began to shift, becoming less bulky than before, and becoming a bit longer.

"**A power so great, not even the the hellfires of the apocalypse could destroy it!**" As Viral declared this, the arms underwent a similar transormation as the one that happened to the legs.

"**Rising from the ashes like a mighty phoenix**" The face of Gurren shifted, becoming a bit thinner

"**Return of a legend! Rebirth combining, Gurren Lagann!**" A helmet appeared on Lagann's head, resembling the one that Enki had, though it wasn't a full circle.

"**WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM!**" Viral bellowed out as he finished up his speech.

Everyone looked on at the machine that had been born from the union of Gurren and Lagann with shock and awe. "**Gurren...**" Sakura started.

"...**Lagann?**" Tenten finished up. Their opponent was also staring at the new machine, unsure of what to do.

"We combined?" Naruto questioned.

"Of course! This is Gurren Lagann, the greatest Gunmen in all of history!" Viral said. "And me and you are gonna use it to kick the asses of these punks attacking your village!"

"Right!"

* * *

"Gurren Lagann?" Kabuto said on the Dai-Gunzandu's bridge, amazed by what he had witnessed.

"The mini-Gunmen can use its drill to combine with that "Gurren' Gunmen?" Karin asked no one in particular as she also stared at the screen.

"Kabuto, what should we do about this thing?" Sakon asked as he came onto the screen.

"Sasuke's no longer in the red Gunmen." Kabuto pointed out. "Sakon, Kimimaro, destroy it before this thing becomes a problem."

* * *

"Roger." Kimimaro said. Enki then raised its swords and charged at Gurren Lagann, an at the same time, Sakon's Shuzack flew at it from the other side with his buzzsaw out.

As they were about to hit the combined Gunmen, it raised its hands, and caught both attacks at the same time. Enki's swords could go no farther, and Shuzack's buzzsaw was stopped completely. Then, from Gurren Lagann's forearms, drills extended and tore through and destroyed an arm of both Enki and Shuzack.

"**What the hell!**" Sakon let out as his Gunmen backed off.

"**Leave him to me! Condemnn Blaze!**" Kidoumaru yelled as it was above the red Gunmen, and fired a blast of energy from

Gurren Lagann then raised a single hand to block it, and the energy could advance no further. "**Ha! That won't work!**" Naruto said then moved his Gunmen's hand and dispersed the blast completely.

Tayuya and Jirobou stood by ready to attack next, but were called off. "Wait! All of you, cease you attack!" Kabuto said over their radio. "Fall back! We're leaving."

"But-!" Tayuya tried to argue.

"That Gunmen is too powerful, and Kimimaro is nearing the limit of how long hes allowed to fight. Its best if we try to avoid the loss of any of our five strongest Gunmen." Kabuto explained.

"Fine. We'll retreat." Sakon said.

"Looks like they're afraid." Naruto said as he watched the enemy's lack of action. "Lets finish them off now!"

"Of course!"

As Gurren Lagann got ready to attack the Sayrune and Gember, Shizune radioed them. "Incoming! The giant Gunmen has fired a shot right at Gurren Lagann!" she said.

Naruto and Viral turned their attention to the incoming missile, intending to block it. They raised their hand to catch it, but as soon as it made contact with them, a large smoke screen was released. "Damn it!" Using this opportunity, the Shuzack grabbed the Enki and flew off, while the other three ran away into the forest.

As the smoke cleared, they saw no trace of the enemy Gunmen left. "Looks like they've retreated." Kakashi said.

"Look! The big Gunmen is turning around and leaving!" Sakura pointed out and everyone turned around to see just that.

"What should we do?"

"I say we chase them, and take them out now!" Naruto said.

"No." Viral said.

"Huh? Why not? We can use Gurren Lagann and beat them!"

"Gurren Lagann is strong, but you still won't stand a chance agaisnst the Dai-Gunzandu with it." Viral explained.

"Viral is right." Neji said. "Lets use this as a chance to recover."

"I guess..." Naruto said

"Besides, since they ran, that means we won." Jiraiya pointed out.

* * *

"Lets see, we may have sufferd some damage to the outer part of the village, but I think we still made out well thanks to Gurren Lagann." Tsunade said as she inspected the area where the battle had taken place.

"Its a good thing we had it, too." Sakura said. "Without it, I'm afraid that we might have lost." she said as she looked towards what had been a battlefield a few hours ago.

"Lets not try to think of what mmight have happened." Shizune said. She pointed over towards the battle ground, where people were colletcting the remains of the enemy Gunmen to use to repair their own. "We got plenty of spare parts out of it, no one died, and we even stole one of their Gunmen from them." she said, trying to be optimistic.

Tsunade nodded. "And the Dai-Gurren has power now, so we'll be able to use that to speed up the repairs."

* * *

Down in the cavern, Naruto looked from his Lagann to the Gurren next to it. "Gurren Lagann was really powerful." Naruto commented as he thought bck to the battle.

"Yeah, it was." Sasuke said as he walked over to the Gurren.

"Sorry about borrowing Gurren for that. Just wanted to use it again once for old times sake." Viral said to Sasuke. "Next time, you can use it for yourself."

"Just wait. They won't stand a chance against me and Sasuke in Gurren Lagann!" Naruto said.

"Yeah." Sasuke agreed.

* * *

And there is the fourth chapter. And its the moment you were all waiting for. So how was it? And the speech as well. Thats an important part. Also, what did you think about Anko's Gunmen hijacking? If you're wondering about the name, I'm trying to keep with the Gurren Lagann spirit, and most Gunmen were given pun names based off of their pilots. Its a double one, and you guys should be able to recognize it fairly easy. As for Leeron, I was deabting on whether or not to include him, and decided "Why not?" What do you think of his inclusion? He didn't do much this chapter, but he still has plenty of chances in the future.

Just felt like ponting this out: While working on this chapter, I found myself listening a lot to the soundtrack, Gurren Lagann Best Sound that came with the last two DVDs. Most specifically, when the Gunmen attack begins, I visualized it to "Bafbaf! Do You Like to See it...Burn?". When the Sound Four arrived, I pictured it set to "Nikopol." And of course, when Gurren Lagann makes its debut here, "To Hell With Combining" was the only apropriate song.

Also, if you notice any problems like pelling errors and such, let me know so I can fix them. I don't have a beta reader, so maybe I won't always find all the errors on my own. Anyway, please review.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Gurren Lagann

* * *

**Chapter 5  
That Doesn't Matter. Defeating You Won't Take Long.**

It was the day after the last Gunmen attack, and Tsunade was sitting in her offce, looking through a stack of papers on it. As she sat at her desk, reviewing reports on the repairs of the Dai-Gurren, and various missions, she heard a knock on the window behind her. Turning around, she saw none other than her old pervert of a team mate. "About time you got back. So whats the word?" she asked.

"That big fortress of theirs is stopped just on the boarder of the Fire Country, just passed the Valley of the End. Its just been standing their all night." he said. "I left a few toads their to let us know if anything happens.

"Looks like they figured we'd try to follow that thing." Tsunade said with a sigh. "Guess we shouldn't have gotten our hopes up about following that thing back to their base."

"So, wheres Naruto?"

"Hes in one of the training grounds with Viral and Sasuke. Viral is making sure they're familar with how to work Gurren Lagann properly for when the next Gunmen attack happens."

"Training to get them stronger, huh?" Jiraiya ssaid with a laugh. "With that Gurren Lagann of theirs, we shouldn't have anything to worry about."

The Hokage only sighed. "About that..."

* * *

Gurren Lagann charged at Viral's Enkidu, and was about to throw a punch when it was met with a kick to Lagann's face. "Damn it Sasuke, I was gonna hit him, but you slowed down my punch! Stop holding me back!" Naruto yelled at his co-pliot through the communications.

"You're the one holding me back, idiot. He would have just blocked your attack, so I was going use that punch as a feint and kick his legs out from under him. But you caused my plan to lag, which is why he hit us." the Uchiha boy replied.

"You don't know that! For all you know, my punch would have sent him flying!"

"I _do_ know that it wouldn't have worked, since only an idiot wouldn't have seen it comming from miles away." Sasuke said. He chuckled a bit, but was cut off as one of Gurren Lagann's fists punched its own chest hard.

"**Hey, looks like you didn't see my punch coming! Guess you're the idiot.**" Naruto said through Lagann with a laugh. His laugh was cut off as Gurren Lagann's other fist struck Lagann, causing it to spin around.

"**Maybe you're on to something, idiot.**" Sasuke growled through Gurren. "**Maybe we should test it out a few more times on you?**"

It was then that all hell broke loose with Gurren Lagann, as it struck Gurren with one of its own fists, then Lagann, then Gurren again, then Lagann again, and it looked like this could go on endlessly if something didn't stop it.

"**Shut up, both of you!**" Viral yelled out as Enkidu did a flying kick into Gurren's face, then followed up by slamming Lagann's face into the ground. "**Its not the fault of one you, its both of you thats the problem! Do you realize how pathetic this looks, having a Gunmen like Gurren Lagann continue to be punched by itself?**"

"...But he started it." Naruto said.

"What? You're the one who punched me first!" Sasuke said.

"But you started it by holding me back!"

"You're the one who was holding me back!"

"**I don't care who started it!**" Viral yelled as Enkidu grabbed one of Gurren Lagann's arms. "**I'M FINISHING IT!**" he bellowed out so loud, that the entire village could here him as he lifted Gurren Lagann over Enkidu and slammed it into the ground, leaving a crater shaped exactly like Gurren Lagann where it impacted.

* * *

"Sounds like those students of yours still aren't making much progress, Kakashi." Anko said from her Gunmen's cockpit as she finished the last of the dango she had brought for a snack. Kakashi and her had both been stationed on guard duty, with her Ankobra and his Dayakkaiser standing at the village gates.

"I'm not surprised." he commented, not even looking up from the orange book that he always read. "Those two always have had problems working together. They do have good team work at times, but those moments are rare."

"Well then, whos bright idea was it for them to work together?"

* * *

"I can't believe those two _still_ haven't been able to work together yet." Kiba said he looked out the window of the resturant that his team, Shikamaru's team, and Neji's team had all gone to for lunch. "And it sounds like they're really pissing off Viral."

"They've been at it all day, but they're still not working together any better." Shikamaru said. "So much for no one standing a chance against them."

"I don't understand why they're having such a hard time." Shino commented.

"Its because they're both so deadset on proving they're better than the other one." Neji stated.

"Normally, I would have said that it was all Naruto's fault and hes just causing problems for Sasuke, but even I can't deny that Sasuke is just as much a part of the problem as Naruto." Ino said.

Tenten sighed. "Those two are being a real pain. What are they going to do when those five Gunmen return and they still can't work together?"

"I hope they can work things out before that happens..." Hinata commented.

* * *

"Gurren Lagann." Kabuto repeated the name as he watched the footage of yesterday's battle. "Its quite the interesting machine."

"How was the mini-Gunmen able to combine with the larger Gunmen like that just by drilling into the top of the other?" Karin questioned nearby. "I dismissed the small one at first, but I'm starting to re-evaluate my initial assessment of it." she said, more to herself than Kabuto.

"So Karin, what were the readings on it?" Kabuto questioned the girl. She was quite useful when it came to Gunmen, having become quite knowledgable on them, having quickly discovered that she seemed to possess a talent for working with them, only seeming to get better with time.

"The readings showed that upon their combining, its specs equaled those of the Gunmen used by the Sound Five."

Kabuto raised an eyebrow at this. "Hm? But if thats the case, then how was it able overpower Kimimaro, Sakon, and Kidoumaru so easily despite being on equal terms?"

"Well, I can't say what exactly, but..."

"But what?"

"Well, during the fight, I could sense a powerful spike of chakra, and it was almost as if it was coming from the Gunmen itself."

"The Gunmen was emitting chakra?" Kabuto questioned. The girl was also gifted when it came to being a sensor, having already possessed great talent at it before even recieving training. It was that talent that had interested Orochimaru when he had found her, and why she was a part of Oto today. He knew she was good, but he was still was a bit skeptical.

"Well, I'm actually not sure. I thought it was chakra, but it felt different than any I've ever felt before. And it was only on three brief occasions that I felt it."

"And those occasions were?"

"The first was right after the Gunmen combined. The second was when the drills came out of it. And the third was when it blocked Kidoumaru's attack."

"Hmm..." Kabuto let out as he pondered this. "I want to gather more data on this. We'll have to engage it some more to lean all that we can."

"I agree." Karin agreed. "I have an idea of what Gunmen we should send to engage Gurren Lagann, but its back at the base. We'll need to have it come from there when we get reinforcements."

* * *

Elsewhere on the Dai-Gunzandu, the Sound Five were in a large room that had been designated as a training room. Kimimaro sat meditating near a corner, while Sakon sparred with Kidoumaru. Tayuya leaned on the wall as she watched them while Jiroubo stood near another corner.

"This whole thing blows." Tayuya commented.

"You know thats not how a young lady should talk." Jiroubo said.

"Do you ever get tired of telling me that? I don't give a shit about how you think I should talk, fatass." she retorted.

"So, what 'blows?'" Sakon questioned, his three-legged kick having been blocked by Kidoumaru's hands catching each of the feet.

"The whole thing. That Gurren-whatever thing kicking your your asses, and I don't even get a chance to try my own luck cause Kabuto doesn't think we're up to it." she said. "I don't care if hes the guy right under Lord Orocimaru; I don't like it when someone thinks I'm weak."

"You are weak." Kimimaro said, not opening his eyes. "All four of you."

The other four in the room all glared at their appointed leader, none of them too fond of him. "What was that, bone boy?" Tayuya questioned.

"You all heard me." he replied.

"You've sure got a big head, don't you?" Sakon asked. "Just cause you're not gonna die now, you've got it in your head that you're better than us like before. Well I've got news for you, while you were stuck in bed dying, we got stronger. And besides, you were just as ineffective as me yesterday."

"I sincerely doubt any of you have gotten that strong." Kimimaro said, sfinally opening his eyes as he stood up. "I'll even give you all the chance to prove me wrong."

"Well aren't you cocky. Don't forget, you can't fight for too long before you start getting weak again. We all saw how pathetic you looked when you got out of your Gunmen yesterday." Kidoumaru commented.

"That doesn't matter. Defeating you four won't take long." Kimimaro said.

"Why you-!" Sakon let out as he rushed at Kimimaro, and attempted to strike him, but he stepped gracefully to the side to avoid the attack. It was then that Jiroubo joined in, and attempted to punch the Kaguya boy while his back was turned to him, but the other boy avoided his attack by doing a backflip over the larger boy, and kicking him in the back, causing him to stagger forward. Kidoumaru was the next to join in, and spit out a web from his mouth at the pale boy. From Kimimaro's palms, bones began to produde as it quickly grew out through his skin. He then used this none to quickly stab into it pin the web into the ground, being extremely careful to not let it touch anything but the bone. He then leaped back, avoiding Tayuya as she came at him from the side.

"Don't tell me thats all the four of you can do." Kimimaro said.

"We're just getting started." Sakon's second head said, his brother Ukon. Ukon began to separate from his brother. With his brother, the two twins rushed at the opposing boy from both sides in perfect unison. They both punched at Kimimaro from both both sides, who caught both of their punches. As he grappled with those two, Tayuya came at him from behind. Wasting no time, he twised his body, causing one of the twins to knock into Tayuya as they were unable to resist. Kidoumaru and Jiroubo tried their luck next, with Kidounaru armed with clubs made from his hardened web in each of his six hands. As the two rushed him, bones prodruded from his shoulders, and he removed them. They were short in length, but both had sharpened tips, resembling daggeres. Using them, he easily and gracefully parried each of Kidoumaru's attacks, then leaped away just as Jiroubo was about to strike him from behind, causing his punch to send Kidoumaru flying in his place. Kidoumaru struck the wall, and fell to the ground uncounscious.

"Thats one of you down." Kimimaru taunted. "Which one of you shall be next?"

"Thats it." Tayuya said angrily as she performed a series of seals with her hands, then slammed them into the ground. There was a thick cloud of smoke, and three ogres now stood around her. She then drew her favored weapon, her flute. Sakon and Ukon stood nearby, both ready to attack as well. Jiroubo was also starting to be covered in a triangle pattern over his body, his curse seal activating. Tayuya began to play her flute, and her ogres responded to it as they moved to attack Kimimaro. Sakon and Ukon charge in behind them, and Jiroubo with them.

* * *

Kabuto turns off a communication line to the base, his request for reinforcements sent and them on their way. He then reviewed a bit of data when one of the people stationed on the bridge called him over the radio.

"Kabuto, we've got a situation going on in the training room! Kimimaro and the Sound Four are fighting! And I don't mean sparring! They're trying to kill each other!" An image came onto his computer, a video feed from the camera in the training room. On the screen, he watched as Jiroubo received a sound beating from Kimimaro, who gracefully dodged the incoming attacks of Sakon and Ukon.

Kabuto sighed. "Those kids are going to be the death of each other." he said as he got up and made his way to the training room. "They're all talented, but Kimimaro just can't get along the other four, and the other four can't stand him."

* * *

Sakon and Ukon lay on the ground unconscious, while Jiroubo was on the floor with his back leaning against the wall. The only two who were still up was Tayuya, who was now in her curse seal's level two form, and Kimimaro who was unharmed. Tayuya was breathing heavily, the only reaon that she was still up was because she had stayed in the back and had her ogres fight for her.

"You're the only one left Tayuya." Kimimaro said, holding her up by the throat. "You didn't last long without the others. You're the weakest of the bunch."

"You bastard..." she let out as her curse seal began to recede and she revertted back to normal. She was exhausted, and she just couldn't stand the pale boy as he looked down on her. Kimimaro released his grip on her, and Tayuya fell to the ground unceremoniously. She pulled herself into a sitting position, glaring at the Kaguya with such fury that it would make almost anyone else relevied that such a look couldn't kill them on its own.

As Kimimaro made his way to the exit of the training room, he began to slow down as he started to cough a bit. As the coughing grew in intensity, he covered his mouth with his hand. He began to feel light-headed, and he felt something on his hand after a particullarly strong cough. Looking at his palm, he saw that it was covered in blood. "Damn... I dragged the fight out too long." he said weakly as he fell to his knees.

Tayuya stared at the sight for a moment before she stood up. She knew that this would be her chance to be rid of Kimimaro for good. She pulled out a kunai and ran towards the weakened leader of the Sound Five, intent on reducing the numbers of that group for good this time. However, before she was able to, the hand of another grabbed the arm that held the kunai.

"I'm sorry, Tayuya, but I'm afraid that I can't let you do that." Kabuto said as he held her back. "We just can't have you five killing each other."

"Let. Me. Go." she said venomously, her anger so intense that it alomst seemed tangible.

Ignoring the girl, he turned to the weakened form of Kaguya boy. "Take him to the infirmiry to rest." he ordered the man who had come with him. "I'll speak with all of you about this later."

* * *

"Are you sure this will work?" Viral asked Kakashi.

"Not really." he replied. "But it better than just letting them fight it out like before."

"True. I guess its worth a try at least."

"Hey! Don't we get a say in this?" Naruto demanded. Currently around his wrists and ankles were bands that had cords coming out and attached to similar bands on Sasuke's wrists and ankles.

"Not after earlier." Viral said, his anger about what had happened at the training ground was evident in his tone..

"The object of this little exercise is to help you learn better teamwork while pilotting Gurren Lagann." Kakashi stated. "In order to simulate the approriate circumstances, your limbs have been linked togeter by the cords. In order to fight to your full potential like this, you two will have to work together and compromise during attacks. If you both try to attack at the same time without any thought into how your linked together, you'll only hinder yourselves."

"Well, I sure hope this works." Viral said.

"Whats the worst that could happen?" Kakashi asked.

* * *

Sakura was currently on the bridge of the Dai-Gurren with Tsunade and Shizune. Several others were repairing the various consoles and controls as per Leeron's instructions. Sakura looked outside at her Gunmen stationed outside and let out a sigh.

"Something wrong little missy?" the holographic Leeron said as he appeared next to her. She flinched at his sudden appearance, though quickly recovered. She didn't kow if she would ever get used to this man, though she couldn't help but use the term man lightly.

"Just thinking about yesterday's battle. I can't help but feel that I was completely useless. My aim sucked, and then I had to get saved by Tenten because I couldn't handle myself." she explained.

"I see."

"I thought things would change since I started pilotting that Gunmen, and I became Lady Tsunade's apprentice, but things haven't changed in the slightest. I'm still the same pathetic girl who couldn't help her team mates during the chunin exams..." she lamenting, remembering what had happened in the Forest of Death, and

"Let me tell you, hunny, no one is perfect. Not even everyone in Team Dai-Gurren didn't have their moments of weakness." Leeron explained. "Its what you do after you moments of weakness that really matters. If you let it get to you, it'll just consume you from the inside. If you accept that these things can happen, and continue on, you'll rise higher than you were before. Thats something our old leader taught us through his actions."

Every word he said seemed to make a beeline for her heart. Despite his funny looks, Leeron was right. She had been ineffectual, but she couldn't let that get to her. She had barely been Tsunade's apprentice for a week, so of course these things would take time. She couldn't expect instant improvement, she had to work towards it. "Thank you, Mr. Leeron."

"Please, no 'Mr.' And you can call me Ron, if you want."

"Ok, Ron."

And with that, she told Tsunade that she was leaving for now, and that she would be back in time for her lessons later, and ran out of the bridge.

* * *

Reaching her destination, Sakura arrived at the training field that had been set up to practice with their newly aquired guns. There were stationary tagets, targets that moved, and targets that were a great distance away. Looking around, Sakura saw who she was looking for. "Hey! Tenten!" she called out, and the older girl looked over to her.

Despite her talent for accuracy, Tenten never stopped practicing. She wasn't from some famous clan, so she didn't have any bloodline or family jutsus to use, so she would do as her sensei had proudly instructed them; "Train endlessly to the limit of your your abilities, and grow stronger through hardwork! Such is the power of youth!" She didn't buy into the youth crap like Lee did, but that didn't stop her from trying to improve herself. Her aim was good enough to have been the only genin that had been given one of the guns during their first battle using them, so she had to do her best and improve beyond even that.

"Sakura? What are you doing here?" Tenten asked.

"I was wondering if you could help teach me how to aim better." the pink haired girl explained.

"Why me?" the brown haired girl asked, a little caught off guard by the request.

"You've got the best accuracy of anyone I know, maybe even in the whole village."

"I-I wouldn't say that." Tenten replied as she scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Could you please? My Gunmen's main weapon is its cannon, but its useless if I'm not good enough to hit anything with it."

Thinking over the sudden request, Tenten handed her rifle to Sakura. "Alright then. Set this up, and lets see what you've got. I don't know if I'll be of any help, but I can at least give you some pointers."

"Thank you so much!" Sakura said, and did as she was told.

* * *

Both Kakashi and Viral were currently burrying their faces in their palms. Things had started of simple, but quickly turned sour. Currently, Naruto was trying to strangle Sasuke with the cords while the other boy repeatedly elbowed the blonde in the chest with great force.

* * *

Kabuto sighed at the sight before him. He had tried to lecture the Sound Five on the importance of their teamwork. Said lecture quickly devolved as they seemed to resume their fight from earlier. Sakon, Ukon, Jiroubo, and Kidoumaru were all laying on the ground, While he held back a furious Tayuya from attacking Kimimaro as he coughed up blood while being escorted to the medical wing. He had only let it reach this point to use as an example what happened went the team doesn't work as a team.

* * *

And there is the fifth chapter. Three important things were established this chapter: Naruto and Sasuke's terrible team work, the Sound Five's inability to get along with Kimimaro due to his sense of superiortity to them, and Sakura's development. The first, Naruto and Sasuke, I felt was a logical step. Remember, this is after Naruto's fight with Gaara and Sasuke's "fight" with Itachi. In the manga, Sasuke's feelings of inferiority led him to challenge Naruto to prove to himself that he was still better than him, so I don't think them just saying "Alright, lets pilot this together!" will make them be able to work together in such an action.

The second point with the Sound Five, is me taking liberties. It was shown in canon that the restof the Sound Five did not seem to like Kimimaro, and that Kimimaro held a certain ammount of disdain for the rest, and even going as far as to plotting to kill Tayuya for failing to stop Naruto's pursuit. One thing I would like to do with this story since I plan to have the Sound Five live on long past they did in the series and have them develop a cetain amount of camaraderie, though since I also plan to keep them in character, I can't just have them at each other's throats one chapter and then "BEST FRIENDS FOREVER!" in the next chapter. Thats just terrible storytelling and character development.

And Finally, Sakua. Since I've established before the previous chapter, shes now Tsunade's apprentice, I want to show I don't plan to have her instantly become stong. It takes time, so I want to show I'm not rushing through things. Anyway, please review.


End file.
